Annandale Food Shelf COVID-19 update
Who would have thought a year ago we would be in the grip of a worldwide epidemic? I certainly didn’t. When the governor expressed concern for the safety of our citizens your food shelf immediately acted. It started with just sanitizing everything and offering masks to anyone who wasn’t feeling well. We updated our safety guidelines almost weekly till now we are delivering food to our client’s vehicle and allowing only one person in to select their fresh produce and perishables with a no-touch process.
We continue to deliver food to our homebound clients. We normally work with a volunteer staff of 63 but are using only 24 in order to keep our contact with others to a
minimum. We encouraged anyone with compromised health in their immediate associates to stay away. Most were in total agreement but a few were disappointed they
couldn’t work.
We were completely prepared for an upsurge of client usage but that didn’t happen
and were surprised that we actually went down. Perhaps some were uncomfortable venturing out or maybe the stimulus money they received provided their needs. We knew however that wasn’t going to last forever.
As soon as the community knew we were operating as usual cash donations started
coming in. April and May donations were larger than we usually get from the Holiday
Train in December. We had a number of donations from folks who hadn’t donated before. Untiedt’s donated more than 2,000 pounds of produce that was delivered by a wonderful group of volunteers from WCCA. Bullock’s LJC Ranch not only brought over 350 pounds of wonderful fresh sweet corn but also $1,000. Dechene Farms gave us 2,000 pounds of Baby Red potatoes which we shared with other food shelves. Huisken Meats of Sauk Rapids donated 1,300 pounds of ground beef patties which we had to share with other food shelves because we didn’t have freezer space.
Thank you, Jeff, for making this happen. Another truly amazing donation was from
Annandale Subway. Deb, the owner brought in $360 that her staff collected in tips. We
don’t know who came up with this heartwarming idea. After all, the staff are mostly kids
who need whatever they can earn. That says a lot for their upbringing. Deb made two
more trips bringing us a total of $1,620. Amazing! Rack Enterprises of Annandale made
five donations totaling $1,600 from the sale of their delicious Memphis style ribs. These are just a few donations. We wish we could mention all our wonderful donors who always come through when there is a need but the list would be too long.
Be it $5 or $5,000 every dollar is appreciated and carefully spent.
We got word last week the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will not be running this year.
This will be a serious hit to our funding for next year. Aside from that, I love that glorious train. Darn that virus for changing our lives in so many ways.
Stay safe everyone and remember, we will always be here for anyone in need.
By Ed Skomoroh
Annandale Food Shelf
President