On The Mark: Food shelf volunteers fill new gaps

As increasing numbers of our neighbors are laid off or staying home with children, they find it harder to make ends meet. Nonprofits such as the Tri-Community Food Shelf are helping mightily to compensate. Year-round, on Friday afternoons from 3 to 5:30 p.m., the food shelf, serving Wright, Tamarack and Cromwell, offers boxes of food for all who come to their quarters on the northeast corner of highways 210 and 73. The organization was started by the late Art and Bea Jauss of Tamarack and others.

Headed up today by energetic, organizational and financial whiz Dianne Knoben of Tamarack, a crew of five to seven volunteers work together every Friday.

"During the pandemic, they're telling us that no one over 60 should volunteer," Knoben said. "But that's nine-tenths of the nation's volunteer force."

Under Covid restrictions, the crew follows precautionary practices: handwashing, wearing gloves and masks, wiping down everything, and cleaning the freezer with bleach water.

Customers may no longer enter and choose items. They drive up and staff members bring bags and boxes out to the cars. The boxes may contain milk, breads, meat and eggs from the freezer.

"We supplement boxes with everything we can think of - on average, about 80 pounds," Knoben said.

Keeping a distance during the distribution has been difficult, she said. "It was hard at first. People were out in front talking to each other, blocking the door ... I had to be the good cop."

Who are the clients?

"We serve a lot of single people, especially men," she said. "People have to qualify to use our services by meeting federal and state guidelines and living in the area. They may use our services once a month."

Under pandemic rules, anyone in an emergency situation can use the service. "It can take months for some people to get up the courage to come. They often think someone else needs its more."

In April, the food shelf served 48 families, eight of them new.

The food supply comes through Duluth's Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, part of the nationwide Feeding America network. It includes government commodities seasonally purchased from farmers and may include raisins, walnuts, blueberries, frozen peaches, and meat. Since stay at home orders, Second Harvest has been sending the food shelf prepackaged boxes of nonperishable items once a month.

Tri-Community Food Shelf's supply is supplemented by direct food donations, the largest from the Minnesota FoodShare March campaign, the largest grassroots campaign in the state with nearly 300 food shelves participating. Teacher Kathy Koenig's fourth-grade class runs the Cromwell-Wright drive, collecting money and bringing food from home. "This is our largest fundraiser of the year," Knoben said. "It's the only time I send out a 'plea for' letter."

Area churches bring contributions year-round. Recently, Kwik Trip began partnering with the food shelf, donating mostly baked goods. McGregor's Big Dollar and the Wright Co-op also contribute items. All must conform to the Feeding America guidelines.

The nonprofit food shelf relies on complex funding arrangements. Staff are not paid. Knoben is compensated only for vehicle maintenance. Since Tri-Community must pay for food, it relies on financial donations. It receives state and federal funds via a grant request process, generally amounting to a bit under $3,000 combined. United Way of Carlton County awards them a grant.

The food shelf owns its building, the former Trolley Café. Four years ago, volunteers approached the Grand Timber Bank of McGregor, owners of the building, to buy it. Tri-Community put down a sizable amount but it paid off because mortgage payments were lower than their rent.

"We inherited all the maintenance challenges," Knoben said. "We negotiated for a new roof and new furnace. We worked with Lake Country Power to get all new lighting, switching to LEDs."

Knoben relies on a nonprofit board that includes her volunteers. There are seven of them, including a treasurer, who lives in Carlton. All belong to the national Retired Seniors Volunteer Program and through Volunteer Services of Carlton County.

"They require us to keep timesheets and reimburse us for mileage at a staggering 10 cents a mile, which they report to the federal government for reimbursement," Knoben said.

The volunteers provide crucial services, she said. "Each and every one of us can step into the shoes of the others," Knoben said.