Presenting a $1,000 donation on behalf of the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation to Cook County Food Shelf volunteer coordinator Gwen Lenz was Jordan and Lisa Copeland and their three children (L-R) Aidan, Henry and Caleb. Aidan happily presented the check to Gwen.
At the end of July the cupboards as the Cook County Food Shelf were almost bare. One hundred and thirty two families representing 104 children received a three-day box of food and wiped out the supplies, said Cook County Food Shelf coordinator Gwen Lenz.
Lenz was giving a brief update to 19 members of the Andersen Windows Corporation family who ended their vacation in the county by donating about $500 in food products to the food shelf on Friday, August 7. They also presented a $1,000 check on behalf of the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation to the food shelf.
The Andersen family members split up and went shopping at the three local grocery stores, then filled the shelves at the panty before sitting down to listen to Lenz talk about the growing need in the county.
On average, said Lenz, the food shelf serves 105 families, or 250 people each month. But this July the number was up. “We ran out of food at the end of the month. It’s not like these people aren’t working. Many are working two jobs. There is a gap there,” said Lenz.
“In the winter they are paying for heat and run short of money for food. In the summer it might be that they are paying higher fees for rent. Whatever the cause, the need is growing,” said Lenz.
“We have a very, very generous community but in the summer, in their busyness, they tend to forget to donate to the food shelf,” Lenz said, adding, “Thank you very much for thinking about us at this time.”
Located in the basement of the First Congregational Church, the food shelf is open on Mondays from 3-5 p.m. and the first Wednesday of each month from 5-7 p.m.
Volunteers assemble boxes of food, typically an egg box, designed to last a family or individual three days, said Lenz. The volunteer staff tries to make the meals as nutritious as they can, but it is based on the available food donations.
“We also supply a $20 voucher for smaller families and a $40 voucher for larger families to purchase meat. We also have $10 green vouchers so people can purchase fresh vegetables or fresh fruit.
“I know that a lot of food shelves have stopped giving vouchers, and we may have to if our donations fall off,” said Lenz.
Both Johnson’s Foods and Gene’s Foods have boxes that accept food donations, and the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op has a program that allows people to donate by rounding up their bill on their purchases with the change going to the food shelf.
Lenz said local food growers also occasionally donate fresh produce, which also fills a gap.
“We could use more volunteers to help unload trucks, stock the shelves, and fill bags and boxes. The paperwork is also very time consuming,” Lenz said.
When asked if the food shelf receives help from the government Lenz replied, “We don’t get any money from the city of Grand Marais, the county, the state or federal government. That also means we don’t have any of those hoops to jump through.
“It would be nice if we had enough volunteers to keep the food shelf open every day. The Congregational Church has been wonderful to us. They are looking at moving us to a larger room, giving us more space and getting us out of the way when they have an event and need to use their kitchen,” she said.
All in all, said Lenz, “It’s only three days of food. It’s emergency gap filler. It’s not a lot. But it’s important to the people who need the food.”
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