Rochester church hopes to build 'food wall' to help needy families

Matthew Stolle, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·3 min read

Apr. 18—With food insecurity on the rise with many Rochester families amid a year-long pandemic, Evangelical United Methodist Church is hosting what is believed to be a first for Rochester: A community-wide food drive for the Salvation Army.

"Feed the Need" will take place 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the church, 2645 N. Broadway Ave. The effort will feature a "Community Food Wall" made of scaffolding that organizers hope will demonstrate the community's spirit of giving and generosity.

The church, across the street from Bowlocity Entertainment Center, is making it easy for people to give. Drivers can enter the parking lot from Broadway and drop off their food right at the wall, said Jim Klepper, the church's director of education and contemporary worship.

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"The need is so great," Klepper said. "We think it'll just be something. I don't think it's ever been done before."

Rebecca Snapp, the Rochester Salvation Army's director of community engagement, said a Twin Cities official told her that the demand at food shelves nationwide has grown by 500 percent within the last year. Locally, the need isn't so much driven by an increase in families served by local food shelves as by families who were already in a perilous financial situation before the pandemic hit.

"This has really hit people that were already in a low income or food insecure situation," Snapp said, "when they were already working hour to hour or paycheck to paycheck."

Food scarcity has been illustrated nationally by miles-long lines of cars at metro food shelves.

Snapp said the Salvation Army food shelf, 115 First Ave N.E., serves about 550 families in a normal year. With the increase in need, the Salvation Army expanded its operations, opening its shelf twice a month rather than just once a month. The hope is that the food collected Saturday will allow it to open once a week — or four times a month.

"If we can collect enough food that we could provide that resource four times a month rather than just two, that would be amazing," Snapp said.

Church officials hope to make an "event" out of the day. Live music will be provided by the local band Light 45. Food trucks will be serving BBQ, Mexican and other favorite foods. And mascots — including Slider from the Rochester Honkers, Mega from Mega Kids Camp and Captain Kettle from the Salvation Army — will be present.

Klepper said the church held a food drive the year before COVID-19 hit, but that drive was more of a church affair and focused on the Channel One food shelf. With Channel One only accepting cash donations during the pandemic, the church reached out to the Salvation Army.

Klepper said the concept of a wall of food came from a previous food drive. To create a visual representation of the giving, the donated food was piled on long tables in the church. As the donations poured in, they "built up" toward the ceiling, inspiring a desire to give more among families.

"We just took this concept, and because of the desperate need that COVID has created, we decided to take the idea to the entire community," Klepper said.

Snapp said givers don't have to go out to Costco and buy a pallet of food. If families would purchase just one non-perishable item for the wall while out shopping for groceries, the impact would be "incredible."

"It doesn't have to be massive" Snapp said of each person's donation. "Just a little bit makes a difference."

Event details

What: "Feed the Need" Community Food Wall

Where: Evangelical United Methodist Church, 2645 N. Broadway Ave., Rochester

When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 24.