March 2021
"Providing food and resources to those in need."
March is MN FoodShare Month!


March is always a good time to donate to FIN, as there is a partial match from the MN FoodShare March Campaign. The dates run from March 1- April 8 and we can count all money and toiletries donated. (Because of COVID, we are discouraging food drives, but toiletries are still welcome.) Money is always the best way to help us, as we can stretch each dollar up to 10 times more because we purchase from Second Harvest. Please feel free to send checks to Friends in Need, P.O. Box 6, Cottage Grove, MN 55016 or donate by credit card, debit card, or PayPal on our website at www.finfood.org. Items can be brought to the back entrance of the food shelf (behind Carbone's in the alley) at 535 4th St. in St. Paul Park on Tuesdays between 7:30 am - 4:00 pm or Wednesdays between 4:30-6:15 pm.

Because of COVID, we are still serving clients outside with a curbside pick-up, in order to keep our volunteers and clients as safe as possible. This has worked well since last March and we appreciate our volunteers, who work hard to prepack all of the carts with wonderful fresh produce, milk, eggs, dairy, giant bags of frozen meat, bakery, non-perishables, and toiletries!
Holiday Train a Huge Success!
Photo by Russ Stoeckel
As most of you know, the Holiday Train Fundraiser is a month-long community event that has many local fundraisers under its umbrella. This year because of COVID, the train didn't physically travel across the country and the committee worried that the donations would be much lower than the $123,000 that was raised last year. There was no Lions/Thrivent Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser, no paper train sales at local banks, no bagging groceries at Cub, no physical Hale to the Bird 5K, no bread or merchandise sales, etc. A new goal of $70,000 was announced. But, thanks to this community and the creativity of the HT committee, the Silent Auction went online and Hale to the Bird was held virtually. Thrivent and All Saints held a virtual Jazz Concert Fundraiser. Businesses and individuals were amazingly generous and we are blown away by the amount of support that has come in! Our final total was $188,466! We are so grateful to every single donor who has made this possible. We couldn't do what we do without your support!


(Holiday Train photo courtesy of Russ Stoeckel)
Holiday Train Logo
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Video Tour

If you've ever wanted to take a tour or wondered what a visit to our food shelf would be like, we invite you to view this short (4 minute) video.
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Donate Stocks and IRAs to Friends in Need
A Return on Investment Like No Other

More people are choosing to donate Stocks or their IRA Required Minimum Distributions directly to FIN. This option eliminates paying taxes on those withdrawals and helps FIN feed those who are hungry in the community. Interested donors can contact Michelle or Jill to discuss their plans and facilitate the transfer. You can also visit the Donate page on FIN’s website to print off a Stock Donation Form.

You can either email it to Director@finfood.org or mail it to:
Friends in Need
P.O. Box 6
Cottage Grove, MN 55016

Feel free to phone Michelle or Jill with any questions: (651) 458-0730.
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Friends in Need is a nonprofit community-funded food shelf providing food and resources to those in need in the South Washington County communities of Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, Newport, and Grey Cloud Island. Each week we serve around 150 families, providing them with bountiful amounts of fresh produce, meat, milk, eggs, non-perishable food, and toiletries. Friends in Need also functions as a place for people in the community to volunteer their time and talents in service to others. 
Our Vision
Improving lives by ending hunger.



Our Mission
Provide food and resources to those in need. 
For more information on how you can support or become involved with the Friends in Need Food Shelf, please call Executive Director, Michelle Rageth, at (651) 458-0730 or email her at director@finfood.org
If you would like to contribute to our work in the community, you may send a check to Friends in Need P.O. Box 6, Cottage Grove, MN 55016. Or visit: www.finfood.org to use your PayPal account or your credit card (processed by PayPal).

Thank you!