After raising his own children, Robert was not expecting to take on another round of parenting duties in his fifties; however, he and his wife assumed care of all children. After his wife passed away, he was left to take care of the kids all by himself. Robert could’ve shut down, given up, but his grandchildren inspired him and gave him purpose.

The kids normally get breakfast and lunch at school, but in the summer months things become more difficult, and Robert needs a little extra help. To help support them, the family receives free summer meals near their home. “Summer meals make it easier to cope. Seeing the kids’ faces when they grab the bags, they’re smiling, they’re happy. It does a lot for them, but more for me because without those meals, we’d be struggling,” he said. “When my wife looks down from heaven, I believe she’s looking at a man who is striving to do the right thing by these kids.”

Thanks to your generosity, we’re able to support 15 counties in NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin by saving 13 million pounds of food from landfills and supplying enough food for nearly 11 million meals. With your help, we are able to include fresh produce, dairy, and meat so neighbors like Robert and his grandchildren can access healthy and nutritious food.

Thanks to the support of generous local donors to our capital campaign, you have an opportunity to leverage additional funds and Nourish the Northland in the years to come. Long-time friends and supporters, Royal and Karen Alworth, are offering to match all individual donations up to $500,000, Super One Foods/Miners Inc. and the Miner Family, are offering to match all corporate/business donations up to $500,000, and an anonymous volunteer is offering to match all volunteer donations up to $50,000 through June 30, 2025.

“We’re so grateful for these generous matching opportunities,” shares Kate Dean, Capital Campaign Committee and Second Harvest Board Chair. “This is a tremendous opportunity to invest in our future to ensure equitable and dignified access of food to our agency and community partners and neighbors within our 15-county region. We hope you will join us.”

To date, our new facility’s 13,600 square foot freezer/cooler has supported an increase in our neighbor’s top three desired foods–dairy (8%), meat/fish/poultry (8%), and fresh produce (14%) and our on-site Food Shelf is supporting 8% more neighbors. Please donate today to provide critical infrastructure, meet increasing demand, and nourish NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin in the years ahead.