Note from our President on local nonprofit’s food program fraud
As you may be aware, Minnesota recently made national news when a local nonprofit (allegedly) conducted a “brazen scheme” to steal money from a federally funded food program implemented by the Minnesota Department of Education.
This fraud – if proven to be true – is a slap in the face of children who are missing meals because there isn’t enough food at home. A group of adults felt it was more important to enrich themselves than it was to spend time, effort, and money serving the over 300,000 Minnesota kids facing food insecurity.
Simply put – they stole money that could have gone to actually help hungry kids.
I want to ensure some things are crystal clear:
- Every Meal is not associated with and has never worked with the organizations and others involved in this scheme
- Every Meal is community funded – we do not use government funds or food to implement our programs
- Every Meal does not participate in the funding mechanism that was abused in this fraud
- Every Meal has the highest ethical standards as indicated by our Charities Review Council accreditation, our independent Board of Directors, our annual independent audit, and by full disclosure of our financial documents
- Every Meal has excellent separation of duties implemented by an amazing staff
I personally am available to discuss any questions or concerns you may have and to show you the work we do, as are those on Every Meal’s staff leadership team.
Additionally, when the news initially broke about this investigation in January, I created a short outline with my recommendations on how to research nonprofits you may be considering supporting. You can read it here.
We at Every Meal are resolute in our conviction to continue serving the kids – OUR kids – in Minnesota who are facing empty kitchen cupboards at home.
Thank you for the trust you put in Every Meal. I do not take it lightly, especially in times like this.
Sincerely,
Rob Williams
President and Founder
612-568-4003
rwilliams@everymeal.org