Pack the Porches Food Drive Raises Nearly $20,000 and More Than 39,000 Pounds of Food

Today’s 10th annual Pack the Porches Food Drive, benefiting Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf, raised $19,846.93 in donated funds and received 39,073 pounds of food during the six-hour event from 7 am to 1 pm.

The total pounds of food received includes a 10,000-pound match generously provided by Coborn’s. Food and funds from the event support Catholic Charities Food Shelf, serving the communities of St. Cloud, St. Augusta, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park and Sartell.

Pack the Porches drop-off locations were again located at Pioneer Place on Fifth, St. Cloud; St. Cloud Hyundai, Waite Park; and HealthPartners, Sartell. Catholic Charities Emergency Services also received donations of food and funds, and several business and schools across the St. Cloud area hosted Pack the Porches Food Drives leading up to today’s event.

“We are grateful and overwhelmed by our community’s response to this time of unparalleled need. As we’re all concerned by our own situations, our community has stepped forward to address the needs of others,” said Steve Pareja, executive director, Catholic Charities.

The Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign, originally held through April 12, has been extended through April 30. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic Charities Emergency Services is accepting food donations during limited hours through a drop‐off model on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm at the loading area of its location at 157 Roosevelt Rd, St. Cloud, Door D. Outside of these hours, contact info@ccstcloud.org or 320-229-4560 to coordinate another drop-off time. Monetary donations to Catholic Charities Food Shelf can be made online at ccstcloud.org/donate.

About Minnesota FoodShare

Minnesota FoodShare is an interfaith organization aiming to fight food insecurity and raise awareness of it among Minnesota communities. The Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign is the largest annual grassroots food and fund drive in the state, and helps to stock nearly 300 food shelves statewide. During the 2019 March Campaign, more than 8 million dollars and over 5.1 million pounds of food shelf items were raised by Minnesota food shelves and Minnesota FoodShare. To date, Minnesota FoodShare has distributed over 17.8 million dollars to March Campaign participating food shelves via the Minnesota FoodShare FoodFund. 100 percent of donations received by Minnesota FoodShare during the March Campaign go into the FoodFund and are distributed to March Campaign participating food shelves.

About Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud is a nonprofit organization that works to build communities, promote family life and enhance human dignity by providing quality services to meet the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and families of all faiths and beliefs.