By Beth Leipholtz, Echo Press
For the eighth consecutive year, the Miltona Municipal Liquor Store participated in the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association and Coors Light Food Drive and collected more than 47,000 pounds of food - almost doubling last year's total of 24,000 pounds.
The amount was enough to place them first among city-owned liquor stores with sales of less than $1 million in the state of Minnesota.
Throughout the store's eight-year history in the food drive, it has always placed in the top three stores.
The town of 425 people has consistently beat out larger communities.
"It's been a really gratifying thing to accomplish," said Mark Larson of Miltona Liquor.
"Each year it just gets bigger and bigger. ... It's one month of my time that I can dedicate to a great program."
Before including this year's total, the store had collected more than 32.5 tons of food over seven years.
This year added another 23.5 tons, for a total of 56 tons.
A large portion of this year's donations were monetary.
The store raised $13,000, with each dollar equaling three pounds of food, for a total of 39,000 pounds.
Of the remaining 8,000 pounds, a significant portion came from Peterson Farms near Parkers Prairie, which donated 7,000 pounds of potatoes.
One customer also has a history of significant donations from Miltona Grocery.
"So it not only does the food shelf good, but it generates business in our own little community," Larson said.
"That's a good deal there."
The food drive took place during the month of October, during which customers and residents were encouraged to drop off food items or cash donations.
Proceeds were given to the Douglas County Outreach Food Shelf and the Parkers Prairie Food Shelf.
"If you see someone coming out of the food shelf with a case of Coors Light, it's potatoes," Larson joked.
"We just box them up in beer cases."
Larson says the collection would not be possible without the support of the Parkers Prairie Food Shelf, the Miltona firemen, American Legion Post 219 in Parkers Prairie, the Parkers Prairie Lions Club, the Parkers Prairie Pride of Lions Club, the Miltona Lions Club, the Parkers Prairie Sportsmen Club, the Leaf Valley Sportsmen Club, Midwest Bank, the Urbank Lions Club, Outreach Food Shelf, the Carlos Lions Club and Peterson Farms.
Community members are encouraged to continue donating at Miltona Liquor, as December marks the Soles4Souls shoe drive.
