Second Harvest Heartland reports that 1 in 8 Minnesotans is affected by hunger and an additional 275,000 Minnesotans donât know where their next meal is coming from due to COVID-19.
Second Harvest is one of the largest food banks in the nation which partners with 1,000 food shelves, like Waconia United Food Shelf, to distribute much-needed food directly to neighbors experiencing hunger. The local food shelf has served on average almost 250 families per month so far this year, and the need is expected to climb to more than 300 families with the holidays and winter months ahead, according to Angie Cruzen, Waconia food shelf executive director. So, the food shelf could supply more than 20,000 pounds of food on average in the coming weeks.