2020 EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY
ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 2 A Letter from Board President
PAGE 4 2020 Financial Summary
PAGE 6 Volunteer & Community Support
2020 ANNUAL REPORT from Board President Bob Rohla: Needless to say, the pandemic of 2020 has impacted all sectors of our
keep us faithful to our mission during such a difficult and unpredictable
community and the Emergency Food Pantry was not immune to its effects.
year. Thanks to you, the Emergency Food Pantry has been able to keep our
Throughout the pandemic, our top priority was keeping clients, staff, and
community safe while continuing our important work. We are grateful for
volunteers safe, and the Board of Directors worked with our Executive
your generosity, determination, work ethic, and positive attitudes.
Director and staff to make that happen. Clients now receive food baskets outside and are no longer entering the building. Upgraded technology has
Sincerely,
been instrumental in making this transition possible. As we adjust to a new way of doing things, our staff and volunteers continue to work toward our mission of supporting the community by reducing hunger. Bob Rohla, President of the Board of Directors The pandemic also impacted the amount of food distributed and the number of clients that we served over the year. While those numbers dropped, the monetary support the Emergency Food Pantry received through donations and grants was significantly higher than in previous years. This included a $100,000 grant from the City of Fargo for food purchases, as well as assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program. This funding helped guarantee that our food basket offerings remained consistent and that our staff would not suffer any economic hardships as a result of COVID-19. While dealing with these unforeseen circumstances, the Board continues to work on our five-year strategic plan with goals that are guided by these priorities:
• • • •
Community Education Volunteer Opportunities Funding and Financial Management Programs and Services
On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I want to thank the pantry staff, volunteers, churches, businesses, and community agencies that helped
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Stacie Loegering Many of us looked toward the start of a new
remained compassionate. Businesses and local
were scared to leave their home and embarrassed
decade as an opportunity to achieve goals that
funders maintained connection. We continued
to ask for food. They called the Emergency Food
previously felt unattainable and find perfect
collaborating with other organizations. Those
Pantry to get directions and explained their stress
“2020 vision” in our lives. But as the year 2020
first three C’s (compassion + connection +
and discomfort. We registered them and rolled the
progressed and the world navigated its response
collaboration) support the community.
grocery cart of food directly to their car so they did
to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people lost this
not have to go near anyone else. They accepted
vision and hopefulness. Decisions about how to
Clients who had struggled with low income and
the food with tears in their eyes and words of
socially distance, provide children’s education at
poverty in the past felt extra pressure as the
gratitude for the pantry and its supporters. A few
home, and pay bills without an income became
world rapidly changed around them. We met new
months later, Richard and Mary returned for a
the norm for many. The stresses of the pandemic
neighbors who had never received assistance
second food basket to make ends meet. All the
impacted the Emergency Food Pantry as well.
before. Clients who had never needed a service
while, each of their family members remained safe,
like a pantry learned firsthand the stress of not
healthy, and fed.
Throughout 2020, the Emergency Food Pantry
knowing where their next meal would come from.
maintained continual service and operated with
As rapidly as the community showed need, the
When we needed to create physical distance and
unique options such as accommodating dietary
Emergency Food Pantry rapidly adapted to fulfill
separate, our community grew. It became stronger.
needs, creating birthday bags for kids, and
these needs.
It became wider. It became more resilient.
providing prenatal vitamins. The “what” we did
Positive growth did not seem possible amidst the One household that requested help for the
one week of the first person testing positive for
first time stands out for me. Shortly after the
COVID-19 in Minnesota and North Dakota, the
coronavirus was named a pandemic, Richard
Emergency Food Pantry changed the client check-
and Mary’s grandchildren moved in with them to
in process and internal processes of preparing
ease the stress for their daughter, Jennifer, who
food baskets. The pantry team was innovative
was a single mother. They had both been retired
and resourceful. From those early days through
for five years. They found themselves caring for
the next nine months of 2020, I observed our
the day-to-day and educational needs of their
values in practice. Our employees and volunteers
grandchildren as Jennifer’s income decreased. They
THANK YOU
remained the same, but the “how” did not. Within
challenges, but as they say, hindsight is 2020. Thank you,
Stacie Loegering, Executive Director
2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EMPLOYEES
Bob Rohla, President
Aaron Nissen
Stacie
Hailey
Sonja Hunter, Vice President
Caileen Heuertz
Andrea
Emily
Tim Rhode, Secretary
Melissa Schmidt
Greta
Carissa
Berta Schmidt, Treasurer
Wayne Hankel Megan Myrdal
& short term temporary employees
VOLUNTEERS Regularly scheduled churches, service clubs, & local business
GOVERNMENT MISCELLANEOUS
1%
2020 FINANCIAL SUMMARY
DONATIONS
$377,286
GRANTS
39%
DONATIONS
57%
GOVERNMENT
$4,096
MISCELLANEOUS $20,071
3%
GRANTS
$262,263
Total Income: $663,716
EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY
CLIENT FOOD & SUPPLY
$106,391
(22% of Total Expences)
EXPENSES
$199,098
(40% of Total Expences)
PERSONNEL
$187,348
(38% of Total Expences)
Total Operating Expenses: $492,837
2020 CLIENT & FOOD STATISTICS Total Individuals Served: 44,524* CHILDREN
ADULTS
SENIORS
19,198
22,695
2,631
*Includes all repeat households served and the total members in those households
Total Carts of Food Provided to Households: 13,927
Total Distributed Pounds of Food: 1,582,603 lbs (Pounds in carts was 1,526,655 and pounds in lobby was 55,948)
Total Unduplicated Households Served: 6,808 *
Total Unduplicated Individuals Served: 21,067 **
*An unduplicated or unique household is defined as the first time a household received services from the pantry in 2020.
**Total unduplicated or unique individuals served is the total number of persons within a unique or unduplicated household.
Total value of distributed food at $1.73/pound: Average household size Average amount of food given per person in carts Value of food given per person
$2,737,903 3 34 lbs $59
THANK YOU TO VOLUNTEERS & THE COMMUNITY
prepack our nonperishable
Moorhead, First Lutheran, First Presbyterian,
foods. To reduce potential
First United Methodist, Flame of Faith
risk, we began to collect
United Methodist, Good Shepherd Lutheran
our food and nonfood
Church of Moorhead, Grace Lutheran,
donations in a pallet box
Grace Methodist, Holy Spirit Catholic, Hope
instead of weighing each
Lutheran, Immanuel Lutheran, Kindred
donation separately. There
Lutheran, Living Hope Baptist, Lutheran
are many individuals,
Church of the Cross, Lutheran Church of
churches, businesses,
the Good Shepherd, Messiah Lutheran,
As the number of individuals and families
and groups that are not
Nativity Catholic, Norman Lutheran, Our
in need of food has grown in past years, so has the number of volunteers. Businesses, churches, service clubs, and individuals have made a strong web of volunteers that accomplish the pantry’s goals. But in the early spring of 2020, that changed. Health officials named the novel coronavirus a pandemic and social distancing was recommended. Some volunteers opted to stop volunteering for a while. Businesses, churches, and community groups were asked to minimize group gatherings. In a short period of time, it was recommended that people wear masks to reduce the risk of transmitting the airborne virus. More volunteers chose to stop volunteering. When the needs of clients increased and it seemed nearly impossible to keep up, Drekker and Community Living Services stepped forward to fill the gap. At a time that was so uncertain for them, they paved the way for us and set a foundation of success to ensure there was no gap in services. A special thank you to Gate City Bank for providing canvas shopping bags so we could
listed below due to the change in accepting
Savior’s Lutheran, Plymouth Congregational,
donations to reduce COVID-19 risks, but they
Pontoppidan Lutheran, Prairie Heights,
are all more than deserving of our recognition
Presentation Sisters, Shepherd of the Prairie,
and thanks.
St. Anne & Joachim, St. Anthony’s Catholic, St. Benedict’s Catholic, St. Mark’s Lutheran, and
Churches have been instrumental in the success of the Emergency Food Pantry from the beginning. We owe a special thanks to the following churches and congregations who continued to support the mission through the pandemic: Atonement Lutheran, Bethel Evangelical Free, Bethlehem Lutheran, Calvary United Methodist, Christ the King, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Community Presbyterian, Elim Lutheran, Faith Lutheran, First Baptist Church, First Congregational Church UCC - Fargo, First Congregational Church UCC -
St. Mary’s Catholic.
Group, COSTCO, Dakota Medical Foundation, Dawson Insurance/
COVID-19 grant dollars became available and local
March & McLennan, Department of Commerce (Economic
businesses stepped up to provide us with
Resiliency Grant), Drekker, Fargo Elks Lodge 260,
goods and services to increase safety and
Family Fare, Fargo Gateway Lions, Fargo Optimists,
enhance client services. We are grateful to Codelation, Emerging Digital Academy,
Fargo Retired Teacher’s Association, FM Area
Express Employment Professionals,
Foundation, FM Sertoma, Food of the North,
Floor to Ceiling Carpet-One, NetCenter
Gate City Bank, Girl Scouts, Great Plains Food
Technologies, Office Sign Company,
Bank, Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches,
Preference Employment Solutions, S&L
Growing Together Gardens, Heartland Trust Co.,
Computers, and Tellwell for providing
Hornbacher’s, Impact Foundation, Knights of Columbus – Holy Spirit, Master Gardeners, Matt’s
services as we increased pantry
Automotive Service Center, Marvin Windows,
employees, equipment, and technology.
Microsoft, Minnkota Power, Moorhead Kiwanis, Moorhead Midday Lions, MSUM, ND Community
Our services continued because of the dedication and the support from many in the community. As volunteers dwindled to remain safe in their homes, other volunteers and staff stepped up. As spring food drives were
870 unique volunteers served 19,840 hours
Foundation, NDSU, Northern Lights Dental, Offutt Foundation, PEO, Prairie St. John’s, Prinsco, Rapid Refill, RDO, Real Property Services, Regency Title,
(These hours are equivalent to 9.5 full-time workers. At $10.00 an hour that
Rough Riders Kiwanis, Royal Neighbors
is nearly $200,000 worth of labor.)
of America, Scheels, Sertoma, SENDCAA (COVID-19 funding), Small Business
cancelled, other opportunities became available. In addition to our yearly donors, we had many new
Association (PPP Loan Forgiveness), Southpoint Kiwanis, Spartan
partners align with our mission. We are so grateful for the support
Nash, Sun Butter, Telephone Pioneers, Thrivent, Trilogy Real Estate,
from individuals who donated portions of their stimulus checks,
Ulteig Engineering, UNFI, United Way of Cass-Clay, USDA People
paychecks, and saving accounts; individuals and churches who donated
Garden, US Bank, Valley Senior Services, Verizon, Veterans Affairs,
food, hygiene products, boxes, and bags; individuals and churches
VFW #762, Wells Fargo, and Wenck Associates.
who provided volunteers; as well as Adric Inc., AgCountry, Alex Stern Family Foundation, Altrusa, Anonymous Donors, Anonymous Fund,
2020 looked different than any other year. However, food remained a
APEX, BCBS North Dakota Caring Foundation, Bell Bank, Boy Scouts,
need for all. The Emergency Food Pantry was able to continue services
Carol Widman’s, CashWise, Cass County Area Retired Teachers,
due to tremendous community support.
Cass County Electric Cooperative, Caterpillar Remanufacturing, City of Fargo (COVID-19 CARES Grant), City of Moorhead, Community Living Services (CLS), Community Options, Concordia, Copper River
2% 3% USDA FILL THE DOME (2019)
4%
PURCHASED FOOD
2020 SOURCES OF FOOD 39%
GREAT PLAINS FOOD BANK
52%
LOCAL BUSINESS
*Great Plains Food Bank (GPFB) is the regional food bank. GPFB runs the Daily Bread program which recovers surplus product and distributes to organizations such as the Emergency Food Pantry (EFP) that directly feed people in need of food. Also, each month EFP can order food from GPFB. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) which provides federal food to food pantries throughout the United States.
Emergency Food Pantry 1101 4th Avenue North Fargo, ND 58102 701-237-9337 EmergencyFoodPantry.com
2022 50 YEARS OF SERVICE 2021 is an important year for the Emergency Food Pantry. As we transition out of our COVID-19 pandemic response, we transition into our 50th year of service in 2022. Our organization began from an idea among MSUM Social Work students in 1970. Their idea lit a spark that allowed a group of churches to start the Emergency Food Pantry two years later. This organization has continued to provide nourishment to those in need in our community since that time. We wish to honor and remember those who made the pantry possible and those who received support from the pantry. If you or someone you know has a connection to the pantry, please consider sharing your story or experience to enhance our organization’s history. Email us at contact@emergencyfoodpantry.com Please check out our newly updated website at www.emergencyfoodpantry.com and sign up for digital newsletters to stay informed about our exciting 50 year celebrations to be held in 2022.
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