• hsm member e-news
May 18, 2009

HSM Agency Highlight May 2009

The Grand Rapids Area Food Shelf was established by a group of dedicated volunteers in 1984. In 2002, the food shelf began operating as a program of Second Harvest North Central Food Bank. The food shelf in Grand Rapids is one of only two food shelves in the state of Minnesota located within a Feeding America food bank. The second such partership is the Channel One Food Bank & Food Shelf located in Rochester, Minnesota. Click here to read more.

HSM Hires Enrollment Specialist for a Toll-Free Minnesota Food Helpline

Welcome to Katie Clarkson, Hunger Solutions Minnesota’s newest employee. As the Food Support Enrollment Specialist, Katie will work to create and sustain a toll-free food helpline, which will provide food support application assistance and eligibility screening for callers statewide. Click here for some of the highlights of the toll-free Food Helpline.

HSM Blue Ribbon Food Shelf Scorecard

The Hunger Solutions Minnesota Blue Ribbon Food Shelf Initiative is a project that gives recognition to Minnesota food shelves that offer exceptional service to their community. To date, forty-four food shelves have met those standards. Click here for a list of those shelves. The data that was provided by the certified food shelves has been analyzed and transformed into a scorecard to help other food shelf leaders measure operation activities and manage their organizations. Click here to read more.

TEFAP Update May 2009

The exact amount of TEFAP administrative dollars that are available through the end of September recently became available. Funding for deliveries of TEFAP product to member agencies of the food banks should be available through the end of May. This means that in June, food banks will have the option of charging their agencies full shared maintenance (14¢ per pound) for TEFAP products. Click here to read more.

Four Cornerstones of Financial Literacy Train-the-Trainer Workshop

This is a two-day “train-the-trainer” workshop on the Four Cornerstones of Financial Literacy curriculum and the learning circle method, a technique that builds upon the life experiences of participants. Training participants will learn the technical financial information included in the curriculum, and gain skills in facilitating training and group sessions for people with low incomes. Click here to read more.

“Communities Harvesting Hope”…Plant a Row for the Hungry

American gardeners have donated over 14 million pounds of herbs and vegetables to feed the hungry in local neighborhoods and communities. Plant a Row for the Hungry is a people-helping-people program to help feed the hungry. Launched in 1995 by the Garden Writers Association (GWA), Plant a Row encourages gardeners to grow a little extra and donate the produce to local soup kitchens and food shelves serving the hungry. Click here to read more.

Tracking Volunteer Time to Boost Your Bottom Line: A Complete Accounting Guide from Blue Avocado

Tracking volunteer time: sounds like another chore? Actually it can help you meet match requirements, improve your financial statement presentations, and reduce liability. In an article written by CPA Dennis Walsh of North Carolina, he explains why and how to include volunteer time in your budgets and financials. Click here to read more.

MissionFish and eBay Giving Works Help Nonprofits Fundraise on eBay

MissionFish was launched in 2000 as an online exchange where nonprofits could accept in-kind gifts, keep anything useful, and sell the rest. The result was a way to keep in-kind gifts from becoming “un-kind gifts.” In 2003, eBay invited them to bring their experience to their global community. Together they built eBay Giving Works – a powerful way for anyone to do good just by buying or selling online. Click here to read more.

25 Random Things that Make the Nonprofit Sector Great from Rebecca Post, Fieldstone Alliance

If you’re a Facebook user, you’ve likely been “tagged” in the past month by friends inviting you to write twenty-five random things about yourself. Click here to read more.

Feeding America Trivia Game

Play Feeding America’s fun food facts trivia game! For every question you answer correctly you’ll help provide four pounds of good, nutritious food for families struggling with hunger during this difficult time – through the matching gift of a group of generous supporters. Click here to read more.

HSM Board Member Highlight May 2009

HSM Board Member Susan Estee is the Executive Director of Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, a non-profit organization based in Grand Rapids that annually provides 3 million pounds of food and grocery products to over 140 non-profit agencies in north central Minnesota. Click here to read more.

Recent news:

  • Bemidji Community Food Shelf: Garden will help others

    A bounty of fresh produce will be coming up for the Bemidji Community Food Shelf this summer, thanks to land designated as a garden for the food shelf.

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  • Letter carriers deliver... 10 tons of food: Annual drive shatters food shelf donation records

    In a time when many people are cutting back, area residents donated an unprecedented amount of food Saturday, when letter carriers collected and delivered nearly 10 tons of non-perishable items to food shelves at Valley Outreach and St. Michael’s Catholic Church.

    Read More
  • As longtime leader retires, WBL food shelf is thriving

    Ann Bagnoli believes the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf “represents all that is best in our community.”

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