About Groveland Food Shelf
Our Mission
"Feed the Hungry"
We believe people in need should not live in hunger.
Groveland Food Shelf is a non-profit providing emergency groceries for those in need. We operate three programs: Groveland Emergency Food Shelf, the MCTC Food Pantry (at Minneapolis College) and a collaboration with Liberty Community Church in North Minneapolis and their 21st Century Academy.
About 5,000 clients are served per month and over 150,000 pounds of food are distributed.
News & Resources
Groveland Moves Back Indoors
For the first 10 months of the pandemic, we operated our client choice food shelf outdoors (yes, in the Minnesota winter). Just as the bitter cold hit us in early February, we moved the food shelf back indoors. Now as the weather has become nicer we have the benefit of going either way depending on the weather. The shopping experience has been carefully planned to meet the needs of our clients while maintaining safe social distancing and following the recommended CDC guidelines.
Proud owners of a New Temperature Controlled Van!
A major contributor to the ability for Groveland to provide fresh produce, meat, dairy and flowers (yes, flowers!) to our clients is the abundant donations we receive from local grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries. The recent purchase of a temperature controlled van has enabled us to increase the number of locations we pick up and amount of food we take in. Our van is presently in use 7 days a week!
Collaboration with Downtown Community Meals
Groveland is in collaboration with four downtown churches, which for over 40 years have run a community meal program on Sunday evenings. As a result of the pandemic, the meals each week have consolidated and provided carry out meals at Plymouth Church. Groveland has supplied each church with additional canned goods, breads and some produce that are provided to guests as they come to take a meal away.
Food For Youth
Unfortunately due to the pandemic, this program is no longer operating. Formerly a collaboration with Lutheran Social Services, this program had to close due to staffing concerns. However, we maintain a relationship with the Pillsbury United Community service called Full Cycle (the original founders of Groveland Food for Youth) which runs a bicycle repair shop staffed by homeless youth. Staff members ride the streets looking for and supplying homeless youth with survival material including canned goods supplied by Groveland Food Shelf.
Our Supporters
Churches
Major support and governance are provided by:
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First Christian Church
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Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church
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Plymouth Congregational Church
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St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral
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Westminster Presbyterian Church
Donated Food
Regular donations are excess food are provided by:
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Aldi Grocery Store
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Breadsmith Bakery Company
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Chipotle Mexican Grill
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Cub Foods Supermarket
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Honey and Rye Bakehouse
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Kowalski’s Market
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Lunds & Byerlys
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Pattiserie Margo
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Seward Community Co-op
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Surdyks Liquor & Cheese Shop
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Trader Joes (four stores)
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Twin Cities Co-op (The Wedge & Linden Hills Co-ops)
Our Staff
We have a hard-working, caring staff led by Executive Director Sharon Abel and Operations Manager, Jaye Quarterman. They can be contacted at the phone number shown below.
Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, our staff has grown by 80% to better serve our clients.
We also have many regular volunteers who are crucial to our operation. Are you interested in volunteering your time?
History
Groveland Food Shelf began in the early 1970's by Plymouth Congregational Church Minister Howard Conn to address the hunger needs within the Plymouth Church community. In 1975 two Plymouth members began collecting donated groceries and distributing them to those in need. Their efforts proved successful, and a call for additional help was put out to many organizations in the area.
Three churches responded enthusiastically to the invitations and have remained foundational supporters— Westminster Presbyterian Church, First Christian Church and the St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church would join this collaborative effort several years later). These communities were experiencing similar issues regarding community hunger and wanted to take action.
Groveland Food Shelf still operates from Plymouth Congregational Church and receives governance from representatives of all five supporting churches. In the early days, the food shelf served 300 people each month. In 2021, the Food Shelf now serves over 5,000 clients per month.
