Minnesota Senate President Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) and the Minnesota State Senate today announced a new statewide fundraiser for Minnesota’s food shelves. The drive will be led by Senators and Senate staff, in partnership with Second Harvest Heartland and the other Feeding America Network food banks throughout the state.

The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic fallout has plunged thousands of Minnesota families into unforeseen hardship. High unemployment, lack of income and financial resources, and an uncertain future have contributed to significantly higher than usual demand on Minnesota’s food shelves.

“During times of crisis, it’s more important than ever for us to join together to support those in need. Minnesota’s food banks have an important mission, but they never could have planned for such an enormous wave of demand,” said Senator Miller. “While this initiative is being led by the Minnesota Senate, it would be great to see this pick-up momentum and have folks all across the state consider getting involved. There are more people who need help than ever before, but together I’m confident we can rise to meet the challenge.”

“The team at Second Harvest Heartland is in high gear, working harder than ever to ensure no one is forced to fight COVID-19 hungry. We are thrilled that our state Senators are stepping up to help raise the funds we need to address the growing need. This is precisely the kind of spirit that makes Minnesota a great place to live, work and weather the inevitable tough times,” said Allison O’Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland

The public is also welcome to contribute to the effort by visiting http://support.2harvest.org/goto/MNsenate.

All donors can remain anonymous should they choose. Donors can also choose to make their gift amount anonymous should they want to show that they donated but don’t want the amount to appear publicly.

This effort in the fight to end hunger includes the following Minnesota Cluster Member food banks: Second Harvest Heartland, Channel One Regional Food Bank, Great Plains Food Bank, North Country Food Bank, North Country Food Bank, and Second Harvest North Central Food Bank. Members of the Feeding America network, these food banks are serving Minnesotans to ensure that as we fight the coronavirus, we aren’t doing so hungry.