Partners

On March 15, an energetic group of 22 employees from UnitedHealth delivered several bags and boxes of food they had collected at work.

They got to work immediately, moving all the items into Shannon Hall, where they began their donation creation—of the IOCP logo!

In less than an hour they had arranged bags of flour and sugar, cooking oil, boxes of pasta and cereal, soup, peanut butter, ramen, and many other items into a heart within two hands.

Josh Gerber, who organized the volunteer effort, said, “It was a lot of fun and a great team-building experience.”

Josh and his coworkers t

A growing partnership between IOCP and Plymouth-based The Mosaic Company to help end hunger in the west metro exemplifies the benefits when community needs and business objectives come together.

“Our company’s mission is to help the world grow the food it needs,” said Nicholas Schmidt, manager of community engagement for The Mosaic Company. “Aligning our philanthropic focus to food and alleviating food insecurity was a natural tie to our business.

Service is integral to the culture at Blake School in Wayzata. As far back as 1989, students have come to IOCP—to learn about the need in their community, to understand homelessness and other issues struggling families face, and to drop off food.

“Ten years ago we began a food drive,” said Nan Peterson, director of service learning. “We use this annual event as a springboard for learning. We tie it to nutrition and have the students do a food journal. We talk about who is hungry and why the need exists. We also learn how organizations like IOCP help families, and what it takes.

The middle schoolers at Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Lake know what they like. So when the confirmation program restructured its Wednesday night service activities, the kids insisted that their favorite event be kept.

“The kids have been doing a food scavenger hunt for 10 years now,” said Kirsten Kelly, director of middle school ministries. “It’s a wild two hours, but we’re always amazed at how much food they collect in that period of time.”

The more than 135 kids divide into about 30 groups. Each group is assigned a neighborhood and given a map.

GE Capital has been one of those partners that just keeps giving—in so many ways.

The company selected IOCP for its In the Community, For the Community program, awarding a $30,000 grant to the youth component of IOCP’s CONECT program. The funds support youth programming, which includes homework clubs, Camp CONECT, youth leadership development, and enrichment activities.

GE volunteers also organized an end-of-camp celebration for the nearly 150 kids participating in Camp CONECT.

For the past 10 years, Edina Realty has collected food and funds for IOCP’s food shelf during the March Campaign and the holidays. “It’s important for us to give back and participate in the community,” said Rebecca Reid, an agent at the Wayzata office.

In addition to the Edina Realty Foundation, which puts up a match for agents who contribute a portion from each closing to the food shelf, Rebecca’s office tried something new this year. “We created a cookbook cleverly named “Sold on Home Cooking.‟ Everyone contributed at least one favorite recipe.

A founding partner of IOCP, Holy Name of Jesus has been engaged with the organization since the beginning. “One of our most important ongoing outreach efforts is collecting food at our three masses,” said Sabrina Mauritz, director of parish life. “In 2010, we donated 17,635 lbs. of food.”

Holy Name collects food every week, not just during the March Campaign. About 150 to 200 families bring items each Sunday, and the youth come forward with the food during the offering. “We love that kids are developing the habit early to share what they have,” said Sabrina.

Oakwood Elementary School in Plymouth recently launched a restaurant project called Graft’s Wooden Spoon. Fifth graders ran the restaurant May 11 and 12. Total proceeds, which were given to IOCP’s food shelf, were $3,225—$2,600 from the Wooden Spoon, $500 from the Oakwood Student Council, and $125 sent directly to IOCP.

Graft’s Wooden Spoon brought back a project known as Graft’s Grill, which was managed from 1997 to 2005 by Suzanne Graft, a teacher in the Wayzata School District for 16 years.

Area businesses are stepping up to meet the food needs of people in the community.

Mosaic, a global provider of crop nutrients, helps the world grow the food it needs.