Minnesota FoodShare 2008



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		Each March, Minnesota FoodShare, a program of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, organizes Minnesota's largest drive for the hungry: the March Campaign. Thousands of corporations, congregations, civic groups, and individuals raise millions of pounds of food and millions of dollars to feed families who need help. Channel One has participated in FoodShare since its inception in 1982.
	During March, Channel One joins with food shelves across Minnesota to collect donations of money and food that support our local efforts to help feed people in need and reduce hunger in our community. When your congregation, business, school or service club participates in the March FoodShare campaign, we make sure that the food and money collected provides food assistance for local people who need it. The demand for assistance from Channel One continues to rise. In order to help meet this rising need we have set a goal for our 2010 March FoodShare Campaign of $175,000 and 175,000 pounds of food. To view our special Minnesota FoodShare Food and Fund Drive Kit click here. Congregations seeking additional FoodShare resources please click here. Be a Channel One Superhero - March FoodShare Activities There are several ways that you can support Channel One and be a superhero in the fight against hunger during March: ABC 6 Superhero Contest and Drive By Food Drive ABC 6 News is sponsoring a month-long contest to name a new Channel One superhero. For more details about the contest and on the second annual ABC 6 Drive By Food Drive on March 27th click here. Denim Days - Go Casual to Fight Hunger Again this year, Channel One is offering a fun and easy way for businesses and other groups to get involved in Minnesota FoodShare. Denim Days offer employees a chance to purchase a sticker for $5 that allows them wear jeans on the day of their choice. Denim Day is available for businesses, schools, and other groups that are interested in raising money to support Channel One during Minnesota FoodShare month. If you choose to participate, employers will receive stickers to give to employees who “purchase” a casual dress day for a minimum of $5. All proceeds will count towards the $175,000 fundraising goal for FoodShare. For more information or to request Denim Day stickers, please contact Julie Christensen at 507-424-1705 or juliechristensen@channel-one.org. 5 A Day 5 K Race This 5K race will be held on Saturday, March 13th. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the race begins at 9 a.m. at the Running Room. Registration is only $10 and a non-perishable food item. For more information visit 5aday5k.org. All proceeds will benefit Channel One. Eastwood Bank Food and Fund Drive Eastwood Bank is holding a Food and Fund Drive for Channel One. Please bring your non-perishable food items or a cash donation to any Rochester Eastwood bank location and register to win an Eastwood Bank Visa Gift Card. Five $100 gift cards will be given away. One prize registration per customer per day. Cash donations should be made by check payable to Channel One. Winning registrations will be drawn on Friday, April 2, 2010. AgStar Financial Services Food Drive AgStar Financial is holding a Food Drive for Channel One in its Rochester office. Anyone is welcome to drop off food donations. Cash donations made by AgStar team members and clients will be matched by the AgStar Fund for Rural America. In 2009, Channel One Food Shelf provided free supplemental food to an average 3,500 unduplicated household visits each month, making food available to over 14,000 individuals on a monthly basis. The Food Shelf distributed more than 2.96 million pounds of food during 2009– much of this work was accomplished with the assistance of people like you! Our work could not be as effective as it is without your generous support.

	Top 2009 FoodShare Campaigns FoodShare is truly a community driven food and fund drive that raises awareness about hunger in Minnesota. Channel One would like to express our appreciation for all the congregations, businesses, individuals, schools and groups that made the 2009 such a great success! Thanks to each of you, we had our most successful FoodShare Campaign in the history of Channel One. The largest campaigns for 2009 are listed below. Congregations First Presbyterian Church - $8,830 and 495 pounds of food Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - $5,291.61 and 1,836 pounds of food Gloria Dei Lutheran Church - $5,707 and 132 pounds of food Business Campaigns Olmsted County Employees - $4,899.25 & 1,596 pounds of food collected Eastwood Bank - $4,450 Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Diseases Department - $1,017.21 School Campaigns Bamber Valley - $1,246.87 and 2,589 pounds of food collected Schaeffer Academy - 797 pounds Dover-Eyota High School - $600

	Feinstein Challenge In conjunction with FoodShare, Channel One Food Bank and Food Shelf also participates in the “Feinstein Challenge” during March and April. Rhode Island philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein will donate $1 million to hunger relief agencies nationwide through his Challenge to Help Fight Hunger initiative. Mr. Feinstein asks food banks, food shelves, and other hunger-relief organizations to use his donation to help raise additional funds from other sources. Nationwide, these organizations raise as much money as possible between March 1 and April 30, 2010. The more money we raise, the larger our share of the $1 million donation from this initiative. The results from the community's FoodShare activities and all donations that Channel One receives during the months of March and April are part of our eligibility for the “Feinstein Challenge”.