ABOUT
Second Harvest Heartland is the Upper Midwest's largest hunger-relief organization with a recently updated mission to end hunger through community partnerships. Second Harvest Heartland forms the cornerstone of organizations working together to alleviate hunger in our 59 county service area. This year, SHH will deliver more than 34 million pounds of food to our 1,000+ non-profit member agencies and programs, including food shelves, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, senior community centers and children's after school programs.
For each $1 donated, Second Harvest Heartland will distribute more than $9 worth of grocery products to those in need in our communities. 96% of each dollar of revenue goes directly to our programs. The work we do could not be done without the support of:
- Volunteers who donate about 33,765 hours each year
- Individual, corporate and foundation gifts
- The voice of each person who believes, as we do, that everyone has the right to sufficient amounts of food
Our Minneapolis and St. Paul Distribution Centers have more than 86,300 square feet of dry, refrigerator and freezer space ready to receive and safely distribute corporate food donations, government commodities and food from community drives to member agencies and programs. Last summer, our freezer/cooler expansion was finished at our St. Paul (Maplewood) location. Our fleet of trucks drove 415,000 miles last year, which is equal to nearly 17 times around the equator.
The Food Rescue Program - Twelve Baskets collects prepared and perishable food from more than 250 Twin Cities area retailers and schools and deliver it in refrigerated trucks to member agencies.
Second Harvest Heartland programs address issues of child and senior hunger and equitable access to nutritional foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Second Harvest Heartland is on the steps of the Minnesota state and U.S. Capitol talking to legislators about the importance of: All children having access to milk; keeping federal aid, such as Food Support, WIC, School Breakfast and Lunch Programs and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program strong and intact; and increasing the amount of resources that emergency food providers have in order to meet the needs of the growing number of working Americans who are hungry.
Second Harvest Heartland is a member of America’s Second Harvest – the Nation’s Food Bank. More than 200 food banks serving every state in the United States belong to this national network and membership means access to millions of pounds of surplus food and grocery donations from manufacturers and producers throughout the country.
Connect to Hunger in the Heartland Stats and Facts