Special e-Touch Edition                                                                  March 2015       
 

We're one week into the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign and a long way to go toward this year's 
Prevent Hunger! $100,000/100,000 lb. goal.


The good news is there's still time and all kinds of opportunities to move the "noodle" on our goal--
time to marshal your workplace, book clubs, bowling leagues, faith communities, neighborhoods, scout and civic groups, friends and family to help us get to goal.  

 

Our wonderful food shelf volunteers are poised and ready for a Minnesota FoodShare miracle.

 

Cash donations leverage the purchase of needed items and support case management services that prevent hunger in the first place. 

 

We've got a long way to go--but we're betting on this amazing community to once again get it done.

 

Thank you, friends!

  
LaDonna Hoy
Executive Director
Links


Upcoming Hunger-Related Events 

 

3/17           St. Paddy's Day Party
4/9             Orono Empty Bowls
5/14           Wayzata Empty Bowls
Did You Know?
  
-- One in 10 Minnesotans (or more than 500,000 state residents) experience food insecurity on a regular basis. That is more people than attended Minnesota Vikings home games during the 2014 regular season. (USDA, 2013)

-- During the 2013 Legislative session, a group of Minnesota lawmakers challenged one another to try to eat for a week on the average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) budget of $1.29/meal. Not one of them made it. (Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches)


-- IOCP's food shelf served 4,302 people last year, and 40% of them were children.


 -- Food shelves' most needed items are much more than canned goods. You may be surprised! Watch a news clip from Channel 12.


 

 
Prevent Hunger! Campaign: Donate During the Month of March

Some would say $100,000 and 100,000 lbs. of food donated from March 1-31 is a big goal. 

 

Lucky for us, we have a community overflowing with fiercely caring individuals who know the impact of one person or one group's seemingly small act of kindness.

 

Prevent Hunger! is part of the statewide Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign. This is an effort to stock IOCP's food shelf and support case management and employment services. There are three easy ways to make a difference:

 

1. Donate MoneyGive online or write a check (drop off at IOCP or mail to us with "Prevent Hunger!" in the memo line).

 

2. Donate Food. Drop off some of our most-needed items 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday (please call 763-489-7506 before dropping off a large donation). Or host a food drive!

 

3. Participate in Donation Creation. There's still time to unite your organization, collect food and build a food sculpture to showcase your team spirit! Learn more or view photos from last year.  

 

Thank you for the invaluable difference you will make in the lives of our neighbors! Questions? Email Liz Erstad-Hicks or read our toolkitWatch this short video about how your donation can make all the difference for a child in our community.
 

Compassion in Action: Food Shelf Volunteers Make an Impact

 

General Mills volunteers

At IOCP, we know our volunteers impact the lives of the families we serve, but don't take our word for it! Read what a grateful food shelf client had to say about our General Mills volunteers:

 

"[My daughter and] I went to the food shelf today, and the volunteers who assisted us were completely amazing. They were so on point, so efficient and so genuinely nice. It gets completely crazy in there with the number of people who come through, but these people were so helpful, kind and polite to everyone."

 
Thank you, General Mills, for shining by example! We are so grateful for your hard work and welcoming presence in our food shelf.
St. Paddy's Day Party March 17


The only thing better than dining at McCormick's Pub & Restaurant on St. Patrick's Day is knowing you're helping feed struggling families in our community!

Join us Thursday, March 17, 11:30 a.m.-close at McCormick's in Wayzata to celebrate your Irish pride.

Your $5/person cover charge will go directly to IOCP's Prevent Hunger! campaign, so grab a few friends or coworkers! There will be live music and Irish dancing for entertainment.

Address
331 Broadway Ave. South
Wayzata, 55391

Further questions? Email Jill Koher or call her at 763-489-7512. Or post a comment on our Facebook event. See you there!

You Shop. Amazon Donates.







Already a huge Amazon buff, or know someone who is? By shopping on AmazonSmile and selecting IOCP as your charity of choice, we'll receive .05% of your purchase total, with no additional cost to you! Sounds too good to be true, right? It's not.

Just make sure you're shopping on smile.amazon.com instead of the regular Amazon site. (Don't worry, you'll see the same shopping options!) You know your purchase will benefit IOCP when you see the "Eligible for AmazonSmile" mark. Learn more.

We encourage you to use AmazonSmile year-round, but especially during Prevent Hunger!, while we're collecting items for our food shelf

Place an order of toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, diapers, etc. and send it directly to IOCP, c/o Lynn Vettel, at 1605 County Rd 101 N, Plymouth, MN 55447. Thank you!
Mission
The mission of IOCP is to engage the heart and will of the community to respond to emergency needs and create opportunities for all to thrive.
  
      
Contact Us
1605 County Road 101 N
Plymouth MN 55447
(763) 489-7500
  
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Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners and the IOCP Endowment Fund, which solely benefits IOCP, are registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Gifts to either organization are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.