Children face a crucial moment in this pandemic
Children in our community will soon face a crucial and distressing moment during this coronavirus pandemic. At the end of July, the government assistance put in place in response to COVID-19 is set to end, and Governor Walz will announce plans for the upcoming school year.
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of children in Minnesota living with food insecurity prior to COVID-19, it is expected that 112,000 more children will struggle to access food through December. The number of children facing food insecurity in Minnesota is expected to climb to one of the highest rates in decades.
We are distraught when we look at the funds we have compared to the expected need. The funds raised so far will allow The Sheridan Story to provide 100,000 meals a week through August. If we don’t raise sufficient funds now, we will need to decrease the meals we provide by 71% to 29,000 meals a week.
The meals we provide simply cannot decline at a time when the children in our community need us the most. The Sheridan Story has been one of the main sources of supplemental grocery items for 37% of all children in Minnesota during this pandemic, and we cannot abandon our responsibility to serve our children with the food they need to learn and grow.
We are mobilizing for the expected dramatic increase in food insecurity during this upcoming school year. However, in order to continue meeting the increased demand this September through December, we need to raise a minimum of $1.8 million to purchase the nutritious food we provide. Your donation is imperative.
Double your impact with a $200,000 match from the Otto Bremer TrustRight now, every dollar you donate will be matched, up to $200,000. As a major funding partner for our COVID-19 response, The Otto Bremer Trust has stepped up their support to ensure children in our community are fed through the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. This, combined with your support, will be crucial to preventing a decrease in our meal output by 71% at a crucial time when demand is expected to dramatically increase. It costs us $250 to feed a child for a year. With every dollar you give today, your impact is doubled. |
In disaster responses such as this, there is often a surge of support initially, but then support drops off significantly while the full need has not yet been addressed. We can’t let this happen! Your gift today will make a real and tangible difference in the number of children and meals we can serve.