Meals From the Heart

Meal Packing Events: Facilitated meal packing events where over 3500 volunteers packed meals given to people in need. In 2022, approximately 1,100,000 meals were packed under the brand name Meals from the Heart. This was about 40% less than normal due to COVID.

Food Box: In launching a program called the Budget-Stretcher Food Box during the pandemic, we discovered that 1 in 5 of our veterans and their families were suffering from food insecurity. Partnering with a veterans program called Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, we were able to provide Food Boxes for active-duty Minnesota military families. These families are often in transition and finding schools, childcare, and a place to live and a job for a spouse can be a challenge. The pandemic and rising inflation is further exacerbating the situation. Our Food Box Program is an ideal solution to help these families make ends meet while they adjust. In 2022, Meals From The Heart delivered 650 food boxes through this great organization. In addition, we distributed 660 food boxes to affordable housing facilities, often right to the recipient's door in Stillwater, Lake Elmo, Oak Park Heights, Oakdale, Mahtomedi, Woodbury, Newport, St Paul, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2023, we plan to expand the Beyond The Yellow Ribbon program to 1000 boxes and provide 500 boxes to local families in affordable housing facilities.