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The Mower County Food Shelf at the Austin Salvation Army is participating in Minnesota FoodShare Month throughout March.

Total donations of dollars and pounds of food given to participating local food shelves are reported to Minnesota FoodShare. FoodFund dollars are then distributed to the local food shelves based on the total amount of pounds of food and monetary donations made during the FoodShare March campaign. Donations of food and money will be accepted all month long. To be sure all gifts will be included in the FoodFund distribution please give your donations by March 31.

As winter turns to spring food shelf donations start to drop and the hope is this statewide effort will encourage more donations at this critical time. Donations made locally will multiply with the FoodFund matching those local donations based on a formula which includes the actual local donation amounts and the number of individuals the local food shelf serves annually.

This matching FoodFund distribution makes March an excellent time to donate food and money to the Austin Salvation Army Mower County Food Shelf.

The Austin Salvation Army encourages individuals, neighbors, businesses and other organizations to conduct a food drive of their own and give to the Austin Salvation Army during March. Fifteen organizations have already committed to conducting a food drive for food and/or money during the March FoodShare effort and there is still time for others to join in the campaign. Residents are encouraged to participate by starting their own fund drive or donating at any of the following locations:

• Hormel Foods

• Our Saviors Church

• Boy Scouts March Food Drive

• Grace Lutheran Church

•  Hy-Vee (Barrel in main entryway)

• First Congregational

• Jim’s SuperValu

• St John’s Church

• Accentra Credit Union

• Crane Chapel

• Mower County Employees Credit Union

• South Grove Lodge Senior Living

• Bremer Bank

• Salvation Army

• Thrift Store

•CRC Employees

The Minnesota FoodShare is a program of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches (GMCC) and has distributed over $18.5 million to local food shelves in Minnesota as a result of these March FoodShare Campaigns.

Food shelf usage in Mower County has nearly doubled in recent months and donations are needed year round. This March FoodShare event is a great way to help those with food insecurities in Mower County and increase the value of individual donations through the FoodFund matching distribution.

Please make a donation of food and dollars to the Austin Salvation Army or at any one of the March FoodShare Month participating organizations. For more information or to find out how you can sign up your group to join the effort call the Austin Salvation Army at 437-4566.