5.2 Lakes Area Food Shelf Donation Request

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SA Our mission is to serve as a trusted community resource by helping our friends and neighbors become hunger free and attain a healthy life. 4 �0D s8ti� HISTORY 1 Lakes Area Food shelf is grateful to have served the communities of Pequot Lakes, Nisswa, Breezy Point, Lake Shore, Jenkins, and the surrounding area since 1980. We were established in 1980 by Donald M. Messick, a former grocery executive who resided in Pequot Lakes.. We are a 501 c 3 public charity and operate solely on financial, food, and other donations. FORTY-TWO YEAR IMPACT! • We have earned the trust of the thousands of people we've served each year and have become a primary communiy, resource for people facing hunger and seeking assistance with major barriers: J Number of people served in: ✓ 2020 = 4,221 ✓ 2021= 4,657 ✓ 2022 = 10,978 1 Food Distributed: ✓ 2021= 130,000 lbs. of food ✓ 2022 = 236,849 In 2022, we launched the Farms -to -Food Shelf Pilot Program with a grant from Sourcewell, allowing us to partner with local vegetable and fruit farmers/growers to provide friends and neighbors with nutrient -rich fresh produce, which they often cannot afford. "When we go to the store, I have to scoot my kids past the apples and carrots — the two things they most love — because I just can't afford them. I can't believe you offer such great produce." Local physicians are referring their low-income patients with diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other life - threatening health conditions to the food shelf. STRATEGIC PLAN 2023 TO 2025 4. In 2022, the Board completed a strategic planning process, which included holding multiple focus groups with faith leaders, social services, nonprofit organizations, civic leaders, friends and neighbors who come to the food shelf, local business owners, and more. In addition, community surveys were completed to assess the impact of the food shelf on the communities we serve and to determine if there is more we could be doing to assist our community. I As part of that process, barriers were identified that prevent friends and neighbors from living fully productive lives, i.e., transportation, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, homelessness, legal, job training, and more. Feedback from the focus groups: ✓ LAFS is a vital resource and entre' point friends and neighbors, providing food, friendship, and connection to resources to help friends and neighbors address their barriers. ✓ Most county services, nonprofits, and other organizations providing resources are located 20 miles from LAFS. To friends and neighbors whose vehicles run on prayers instead of gas, that distance may as well be 200 miles.