The Table is Set, Help Us Fill It
to give the more than 300,000 hungry kids in Minnesota a full tomorrow
Vision
Every Meal currently provides meals every week to over 12,000 kids across 400 schools in Minnesota.
But with over 300,000 hungry kids in Minnesota every day, we know we can do more. That’s why we launched Setting the Table, a $13.4 million campaign to purchase our full facility, renovate it to maximize our impact, and invest in capacity-building initiatives for sustainable future growth. Thanks to the generosity of early donors, we’ve already raised $12.6 million!
Now, we’re in the final phase of this transformational campaign: Fill the Table… Thanks to the incredibly generous $400,000 match from the Joyful Noise Charitable Foundation, your contribution will be doubled to purchase the food needed to stock our warehouse shelves and feed more kids.
“Every Meal is a true partner in helping Columbia Heights fulfill our mission. We are extremely grateful for the work you do and the support you provide our families.”
“You have been an amazing support for our children and families and a great partner to our district.”
Campaign
Impact
Achieving our vision of “Every Child. Every Meal.” requires more space. It also requires more capacity. This campaign provides both.
Setting the Table for Future Growth
By owning our full facility, we can respond more effectively to the increasing demand for our services and lower our overall costs to deliver on our mission.
Gifts to the campaign will support:
- Maximizing flow with dedicated storage space for food coming into and delivering out from the facility
- Much needed additional space for food storage to meet the high demand for Every Meal food programs
- Investments in technology upgrades, including a rooftop solar array to lower long-term costs and increase sustainability
Setting the Table for Greater Impact
Every Meal is fortunate to have thousands of volunteers packing weekend food bags, preparing school deliveries, and placing those bags into backpacks each week.
However, current space constraints limit the number of volunteers we can host at a time. By reimagining the location and configuration of our Volunteer Center, we will create more space for willing volunteers who are committed to our mission of fighting child hunger.
Gifts to the campaign will support:
- An expanded and repositioned Volunteer Center that allows for larger groups and provides centralized access for both food bag prep and food delivery out of our building
- Greater ability to host specialty groups and customize the packing floor by cultural bag options so that volunteers can have a more personalized and meaningful experience
Setting the Table for the Best Food Possible
Our ability to innovate and improve our program has been a major factor in our success, enabling us to distribute over 13 million meals to Minnesota kids since our founding. We are committed to expanding our capacity to do more by making sure that our products, processes, and programs are increasingly accessible and effective.
Gifts to the campaign will support:
- Nearly doubling our capacity for food storage and food bag preparation
- A new Test Kitchen where we can test new food products for our bags and explore new culturally relevant food bag options
- A Rapid-Response Inventory Fund to purchase food in bulk when prices are at their lowest, allowing us to maximize our impact with every dollar (See Video Above!)
Setting the Table to Create Change
Fighting child hunger requires involvement from the entire community. At our facility, we aim to engage and educate volunteers, community leaders, policymakers, and constituents on the issues of child hunger, how Every Meal is working to mitigate its effects through localized efforts, and how they can help.
Gifts to the campaign will support:
- Exterior renovations, including larger signage to increase Every Meal’s visibility and enhanced lighting to improve parking functionality
- New interactive displays, exhibits, and hands-on activities that reveal the challenges faced by hungry kids in Minnesota
- Expanded welcome center to better engage visitors and volunteers as they enter the facility
NAMING OPPORTUNITIES
The Setting the Table Campaign is a transformative moment in the fight against child hunger.
We are grateful for the donors who will lead this effort and equip us with the resources we need for success. To show our gratitude in this moment, the campaign will recognize donor support with the naming of several capital and programmatic opportunities.
Setting the Table Campaign — Naming Opportunities
- $2,000,000+ – Every Meal Building (Named)
- $1,000,000 – Public Entrance & Lobby (Named)
- $1,000,000 – Rapid Response Inventory Fund
- $500,000 – Volunteer Center (Named)
- $250,000 – Volunteer Orientation Room (Named)
- $250,000 – Outbound Food Storage
- $250,000 – Inbound Food Storage
- $170,000 – Delivery Hub (Named)
- $100,000 – Conference Room
- $100,000 – Sanitization Station
All campaign donors who make gifts of $50,000 and above will be recognized as part of a campaign donor wall in the renovated and expanded Volunteer Center. For more information or to inquire about a naming opportunity, please contact the Every Meal Development team at 612.568.4003 or giving@everymeal.org
Campaign Donors
Committed gifts of $1,000,000+
- Peter J. King Family Foundation
- State of Minnesota
- WEM Foundation
- Anonymous Individual
Committed gifts of $500,000+
- Anonymous Foundation
Committed gifts of $100,000+
- Apple Autos
- John W Mooty Foundation and Bruce and Tracy Mooty
- Royal Credit Union Foundation
- Joyful Noise Charitable Foundation
- Anonymous Family
- Anonymous Family
- Anonymous Family
- Anonymous Business
Committed gifts of $50,000+
- Cara and Gabe Herrick
- Scott Tonneson and Jennifer Thorson
Committed gifts of $25,000+
- Robert and Beth Bjork
- Ted and Karen Contag Family
- Bruce and Nicole Ensrud
- Karmen and Michael Hoxie
- Susan and Manny Munson-Regala
- Rachel Riensche
- Jay and Jenna Soule Family
- Noah and Julie Wilcox & Minnesota Lakes Bank
- Anonymous Family
- Anonymous Family
- Anonymous Foundation
Committed gifts of $10,000+
- Bethlehem Lutheran Church Foundation
- Diana Carter
- John and Barbara Huston
- Mark & Jackie Nolan Donor Advised Fund
- Dawn and Bob Peterson
- Steve and Cathy Rieke
- Anonymous Family
Committed gifts of $5,000+
- Stephanie and Chris Bach
- Doug Melena
- Rob and Claire Williams
- Anonymous Individual
