March is Minnesota FoodShare Month, and through the combined efforts of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches (GMCC) and local food shelves, people can have access to healthy options and fight food insecurity. With 260 food shelves in Minnesota participating in the campaign, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches are able to assist people statewide.

In Minnesota, over 400,000 people suffer from food insecurity, with nearly 35% of them being children. Organizations like GMCC come together to fight food insecurity by promoting donations to local food shelves with their Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign.

For the Bemidji Community Food Shelf, the partially matched donations means they will be able to purchase even more food for their communities. The extra product also requires more help from volunteers.

Bemidji’s food shelf will accept either monetary or food donations. They will be able to help the average of 60 families per day with these donations, meaning that every mouth can be fed.

Donations for FoodShare Month can be made until April 10. A grant will also be given to each food shelf based on the number of people served and funds raised during the campaign.

More information about the campaign can be found on the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches’ website.

By — Mary Balstad