Outreach Program of Brainerd Lakes Granted $7,000 for New HVAC System

The Outreach Program of Brainerd Lakes’ facility has improvements on the way, as the humanitarian food organization received a $7,000 grant from Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless to fund a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

The Outreach Program’s mission is feeding families and enriching lives, and its vision is that 80-90% of the meals it packages and distributes will remain in Minnesota, while the remaining 10-20% percent will be used for matters like disaster relief and international distribution.

“It’s not about me being here in this role. It’s about who’s going to be in this role 10 years from now or 20 years from now,” said Shawn Hansen, the group’s executive director. “[Outreach Program founder] John Poston was really amazing about that. He always told me, ‘Never stop thinking about forward, but you have to be reactionary to the present,’ and in today’s world with the amount of need, we are always focused on that next truckload of ingredients.”

The Outreach Program has approximately 2,000 volunteers helping the Brainerd Lakes community every year.