Pack the Porches Returns Friday to Meet Rising Food Shelf Demand in St. Cloud

(KNSI) – Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud is gearing up for its 16th annual Pack the Porches food and fund drive, set for Friday.

Organizers call it a staple of the St. Cloud community and the drive arrives as local demand for emergency food assistance has climbed sharply, with Catholic Charities reporting a 17% increase in individuals served between 2024 and 2025.

Community members are invited to drop off non-perishable food items or cash donations at three locations: Pioneer Place on Fifth (22 5th Avenue South, St. Cloud), St. Cloud Hyundai (900 2nd Street South, in Waite Park), and St. Cloud Financial Credit Union (1716 Pinecone Road South, Sartell) from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Organizers will open the Pioneer Place location at 6:00 a.m., one hour before the other two sites. That’s where KNSI’s Bob Hughes will be broadcasting. He teamed up with Catholic Charities Emergency Services Program Manager Eric Vollen this week, where Vollen emphasized the dire need. “When you have to choose between paying your bills, or buying groceries, or feeding your children or feeding yourself, as a parent that’s hard, but that’s who we’re meeting with.”

Vollen noted that many people visiting the food shelf are doing so for the first time, pushed to seek help by rising housing costs, medical co-pays, utility bills, or sudden job loss. Seniors, he added, are the fastest-growing segment of the population using the service.

Vollen said rescued food forms the backbone of what the food shelf distributes, “meaning that we’re receiving food that would otherwise go to waste, that is healthy, nutritious food that could have been thrown into landfills, but is coming to us. And we have drivers picking up these foods from places like Coborn’s, Cash Wise, Walmart, Costco, every day bringing food back. And so about 65% to 70% of our food source, our food stream is food rescue.”

But even with the support from the business community, he says events like Pack the Porches are essential to filling the gap.

Catholic Charities says cash donations go further than many donors realize. Through bulk purchasing agreements with Second Harvest Heartland, Catholic Charities can turn every donated dollar into three dollars’ worth of groceries. This year, Coborn’s will match all food and fund donations dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000, amplifying the community’s impact even further.

The need extends well beyond St. Cloud. Statewide, more than 9 million visits were made to Minnesota food shelves in 2024, up from 7.5 million the year before, a figure now 150% higher than pre-pandemic levels. One in five Minnesota households currently experience food insecurity, and 26% of households with children cannot consistently afford the food they need.

Pack the Porches has a strong track record. Last year’s event collected 6,437 pounds of food and raised $21,291. Over 15 years, the event has generated more than $226,000 and nearly 105,000 pounds of food for the food shelf. This year’s goals are $20,000 in funds and 10,000 pounds of food.

Pack the Porches is part of the larger Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign, which runs through April 6th.

For more information on Pack the Porches and the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign, click here.

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