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A Letter from Board President
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2021 F inancial Summary
PAGE 6 Providing More Than Meals
from Board President Bob Rohla: 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
The spring of 2020 brought a pandemic that affected us all, and the following months forced us to accept a new “normal” that would last through all of 2021. Throughout this tumultuous time, CDC guidelines regarding vaccines and masking have helped the Emergency Food Pantry make consistent decisions to keep our clients, volunteers, and staff safe.
To this day, clients receive food baskets outside and we continue to use technology to evaluate and improve the service we provide. Staff and volunteers continue to uphold our mission of supporting the community by providing food to reduce hunger. 2021 saw a continued trend of serving fewer clients and giving out less food; however, monetary support from the community remains strong. Giving Hearts Day 2021 saw donations amounting to a record $91,000. Food basket offerings remained consistent and we have been able to maintain a strong supply of food to provide for families in need. As we look to the future, the Board of Directors continues to work on a five year strategic plan that is guided by these priorities:
COMMUNITY EDUCATION VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
FUNDING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank the Pantry Staff, our volunteers, and the many churches, businesses, and
community agencies that helped keep us faithful to our mission during a second pandemic year. We are grateful for your generosity, determination, work ethic, and positive attitudes. Because of you, the Emergency Food Pantry’s efforts to keep people safe while continuing this important work has been successful.
I am extremely proud of what the Emergency Food Pantry team accomplished in 2021. In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, a small group of staff and volunteers made a massive difference in people’s lives with the support of community volunteers and generous donors. Throughout the year, we connected with more than 4,800 unique families and provided over 9,300 food baskets, which included nourishing foods like milk, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, canned foods, cereal, juice, pasta or rice, as well as toilet paper and soap. We continued to accommodate dietary needs the best we could and added birthday bags for kids, as well as prenatal vitamins for people who were pregnant.
To ensure the Emergency Food Pantry continues to meet community needs, we reached out to a group of clients who received a food basket in 2020 to
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Stacie Loegering THANK YOU
gather feedback. One of these families stood out to me, and I’d like to share their story with you. Matthew and Amanda both grew up in poverty and remember receiving food baskets as children. Their experiences taught them how to handle hard times, but even they never expected things to get as bad as they did. When their second child was born with unique medical needs, Matthew and Amanda began to struggle financially. Then, right as their third child was born, they experienced a loss of income due to the pandemic.
The first time she asked for help, Amanda was nervous and embarrassed. When she learned that the Emergency Food Pantry receives food and funds from the community, she said it brought tears to her eyes thinking about the complete strangers who care about her and her family. When she served her family the first meal made of Pantry food, she felt her table was surrounded by the love of everyone who supported the Pantry.
Without food from the Emergency Food Pantry, the couple said they would not have been able to pay their rent or utility bills. With support from the Emergency Food Pantry, they focused on a budget and began to successfully manage their resources. Today, their income is back to normal and they can finally feel financially stable.
2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS EMPLOYEES
Bob Rohla, President
Megan Myrdal, Vice President
Caileen Heuertz, Secretary
Sonja Hunter, Treasurer
Aaron Nissen
Matt Lachowitzer
Melissa Schmidt
Pam Sommer
Pat Podoll
Tyler Mayfield
This is what the Emergency Food Pantry does. When tragedy and hardship strike, our community is there to lend a hand–to help individuals and families navigate challenging times, and to ensure no one in our community goes hungry.
Matthew and Amanda are similar to many individuals and families the Emergency Food Pantry serves. Most are working, but they experience a hardship that makes it challenging to consistently have enough food.
Our mission is to serve these people; to ease the food financial burden so they can regain stability in other areas of their life. Thanks to donors, employees, and volunteers, the Emergency Food Pantry has continued to provide its quality service through the second year of a global pandemic.
Thank you,
Stacie Andrea Greta Hailey
Emily Carissa Anna Dora
Stacie Loegering, Executive Director
Melissa Katie Ron
VOLUNTEERS
Regularly scheduled, businesses, churches, individuals, and service clubs
2021 CLIENT & FOOD STATISTICS
Total Individuals Served: 29,695
Carts of Food Provided to Households: 9,347
Unduplicated Households Served: 4,805
PROVIDING MORE THAN MEALS
The Emergency Food Pantry’s mission extends beyond providing food for people who would otherwise go hungry. We lean into our values of compassion, connection, and collaboration to further support the community.
When you are in a survival state, it can feel impossible to think about meeting more than your basic needs. That is why, when we prepare food baskets, we ask clients a few questions to gain a better understanding of their needs beyond hunger. Then, we partner with outside organizations to help meet these additional needs.
Thanks to a grant through Vitamin Angels, we can provide six months of prenatal vitamins to someone who is pregnant. With support from St. Benedict Catholic Church, we are able to consistently provide a birthday bag to each child. Other churches, individuals, and service
clubs also donate birthday bags so our local youth can celebrate their special day. At the beginning of each year, we receive crayons and other materials so young children can start the new semester with fresh school supplies. For many holidays, we provide families with holiday decor that is donated by local grocery stores. There is so much joy watching a family receive a Halloween costume or food dye to decorate Easter eggs! Thanks to
many individual farmers, Growing Together Community Gardens, and NDSU Master Gardeners, we can provide fresh fruits and vegetables grown in local gardens. Thanks to individuals and Fargo Gateway Lions, we often have small holiday gifts to distribute near the end of the year. Thanks to individuals, we are sometimes able to offer quilts or blankets to families who do not have any bedding.
The Emergency Food Pantry’s effort to do more than just provide food is evidenced by our sustainability initiatives. Many of the food donations that we receive would traditionally end up in the landfill; however, we have developed a system to share food and reduce, reuse, and recycle food packaging. We are part of a collaborative effort with the Great Plains Food Bank network and the Cass Clay Hunger Coalition. When one partner has too much of a specific food, they reach out to see if the other facilities need that particular food. Partners have become resourceful by offering excess items in pop-up pantries and we offer extra items individuals can take in our parking lot during Pantry hours.
We handle a lot of cardboard throughout the week. We reuse any sturdy medium-sized boxes in our food baskets. We reuse sorting boxes as we restock our warehouse. We compact and bale boxes that are too large or too flimsy to safely reuse in the facility. Local businesses provide us with additional boxes to use in the food basket. We accept, pick up, and utilize recycled plastic grocery bags so they are used more than one time. We sort and send appropriate plastic packaging to a local warehouse that ensures the items are shredded and recycled.
2021 SOURCES OF FOOD
845 unique volunteers served 14,334 hours
(These hours are approximately 7 full-time workers. At $10.00 an hour that is $145,600 worth of labor.)
Emergency Food Pantry 1101 4th Avenue North Fargo, ND 58102
701-237-9337
EmergencyFoodPantry.com
WISH LIST
If you are wondering how you can be part of the Emergency Food Pantry’s mission, please consider a financial contribution. Your dollars allow us the flexibility to purchase fresh items such as milk, eggs, and meat, as well as pallets of bulk products. We are also always grateful for donations of the following:
• Boxed food
• Canned food
• Cleaning products
• Hygiene items
• Pet supplies
• Plastic and paper grocery bags
• Medium-sized boxes (Approximately 12’ x 12’ so that an average person can pick up if filled with food).
For a complete list of the Pantry’s current needs, visit our website: www.emergencyfoodpantry.com or scan the QR code. USE PHONE CAMERA TO SCAN THIS QR CODE
