Second Harvest Heartland

Community outreach: more than a food bank, we're a leading partner in the policies and programs that work to end hunger, and we're an innovator in the areas where food can be the solution. Kitchen coalition, our prepared meals initiative, provided 1,319,935 fully prepared meals across the region, in partnership with more than 100 community organizations. Foodrx, our medically tailored nutrition box program, provided services to support a healthy diet and improved health of 14,946 individuals. Our care center team processed over 15,500 new client referrals and assisted over 7,700 households with snap (supplemental nutrition assistance program) applications and re-certifications. (continued on schedule o)(continued from part iii)we provided over $1.4 million in grants to hunger-relief partners to help meet increased need and address food access challenges due to rising grocery prices, inflation and other issues facing minnesota families.

Food sourcing: of the more than 167 million pounds of food we distributed last year, 64% was fresh food (produce [40%], meat, dairy, and bakery items). We work to source locally whenever possible. Last year, we sourced 10.4 million pounds of produce from local farmers, along with 7.4 million pounds of dairy, including 822,871 gallons of milk, and 3.1 million pounds of meat and eggs from minnesota producers. One of our largest sources of food comes from our retail food rescue program, which sourced 45.3 million pounds of donated food from 675 store partners.

Commodity supplemental food program: the commodity supplemental food program (csfp) is one of the foundational services provided by second harvest heartland. Through this program, we provide free food for seniors, distributing 30-35 pounds of nutritionally balanced usda food to individuals each month. Program participants are given a box of highly nutritious food, which may include canned fruits, vegetables and juices, shelf-stable milk, american cheese, canned meat, peanut butter or dried beans, and cereal, rice or pasta. In fy24, we provided csfp food boxes to more than 28 unique distribution sites in 41 minnesota counties, serving approximtely 5,360 seniors monthly.