VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: Sort, label and package donated commodities

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY:  CCA’s role would be to pack food bags that contain approximately four meals. 

LOCATION: EVERY MEAL’s packing warehouse is located in Roseville at 2723 Patton Road.

DAYS AND TIMES: Dates and times of the volunteer opportunities will vary based on shifts available at EVERY MEAL,  but the intent is to schedule one shift per month from 9:00 – 11:00am during the school year September – May.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL CCA VOLUNTEER IMPACT: TBD. New Volunteer Opportunity in 2024.

ABOUT EVERY MEAL: Every Meal is committed to fighting child hunger by ensuring every child in Minnesota has access to good food that they need to learn and grow. EVERY MEAL is a mobile delivery solution, providing culturally appropriate food to children right where they are – at school. Bags of food are packed at EVERY MEAL’s warehouse and then, at the end of each school week, are placed in needy children’s backpacks at their school.  EVERY MEAL has grown from serving one school with a weekend food program to implementing multiple food gap programs serving over 10,000 children across 400 locations. Their Weekend Meal Program is the core of the program. Their goal is that every school in Minnesota has the opportunity to implement a weekend food/backpack program. 

• Website: https://www.everymeal.org/

·  Individual Volunteer Opportunities: https://volunteer.everymeal.org/

PROJECT LEAD/CONTACT INFORMATION:  

Mary McCullough: 612-598-6015 email: jmcdmac@aol.com

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: Join FMSC for a unique, hands-on volunteer opportunity! Volunteers hand-pack rice, soy, dried vegetables and a nutritionally complete blend of vitamins and minerals. Meals are sealed, packed in boxes, and shipped to FMSC’s trusted partners who distribute the food to children in need around the world.

LOCATIONS: FMSC Sites at Coon Rapids (401 93^rd Ave. NW, 55433) and Chanhassen (18732 Lake Dr. E., 55317)

DAYS AND TIMES: Volunteer shifts are held twice a year at each site, from 9:30 - 11:15 a.m.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL CCA VOLUNTEER IMPACT:  IMPACT: In 2024 Cargill volunteers packed approximately 22,000 meals at Feed My Starving Children events. Those meals are feeding sixty children for a year.

ABOUT FMSC: 

• FMSC’s Mission is feeding God’s starving children - hungry in both body and spirit.The organization is committed to reaching every child, everywhere, until all are fed.

• Millions of children die each year from preventable causes like pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and undernutrition. Hunger is responsible for half of all deaths in children under 5 years old. FMSC estimates at least 6,200 children die each day from causes related to undernutrition. This is heartbreaking.
• FMSC believes hope begins with food. As a Christian nonprofit, FMSC partners with organizations that stay in communities long-term, helping them move from relief to development.
• Nutrition experts scientifically formulate meals – including contributors from Cargill – to address malnutrition and help children grow, thrive and reach their full potential.

• Website: https://www.fmsc.org/

• Individual Volunteer Opportunities: https://www.fmsc.org/get-involved/volunteer-info

CCA PROJECT LEAD/CONTACT INFORMATION:

Thom Schultz: 763-568-1233          email:  thomschultz@hotmail.com

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: Repackage donated food into smaller boxes or packages to be distributed to TFG's network of hunger relief organizations; sort and remove damaged, perishable and nonfood items that have been donated; package special foods packs for specific programs such as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

LOCATION: 8501 54^th Ave. N. New Hope

DAYS AND TIMES: First Wednesday of the month (unless a holiday) from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL CCA VOLUNTEER IMPACT: In fiscal 2024, CCA members volunteered about 300 hours to pack food that goes to food shelfs and other hunger relief organizations.

ABOUT THE FOOD GROUP:

• For more than 40 years, TFG has worked to provide good foods to those who need it most. TFG focuses on local food access, equity and nutrition issues related to food and hunger in more than 30 counties in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin and works on both ends of the food system from production to distribution.
• TFG also partners with more than 200 food shelves and meal programs too offer distribution of food, bulk purchasing, nutrition education and resources, capacity building support, and culturally equitable food and resources.
• TFG also has a traveling nutritious grocery store, which makes monthly stops at 37 distribution sites across the Twin Cities and greater MN to offer fresh produce and quality meats with discounts up to 30 percent off retail prices.
• TFG's BIG RIVER Farms creates market opportunities for participating farmers.
• Website: https://thefoodgroupmn.org
• Individual Volunteer Opportunities: https://thefoodgroupmn.org/get-involved/volunteer/

CCA PROJECT LEAD/CONTACT:

John Tschumperlin: 612-325-2220     email: tschump@aol.com

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY:

• Preparing, portioning, and packaging of food. No culinary skills are necessary – group activity coordinated by Cargill Cares Alumni (CCA) and Cargill  
• Picking up and delivering food to clients - individual activity coordinated by Cargill
  

LOCATIONS: 

• Kitchens - Minneapolis at 2500 Bloomington Ave, 55404; and St. Paul at 380 E Lafayette Frontage Rd., MN 55107.

DAYS AND TIMES:  

• Kitchen Events  - Cargill and CCA sponsor monthly (June through October) kitchen events at the  Minneapolis OA Kitchen. Each shift requires 8-18 volunteers. The events are from 2:30pm to 4:30pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month. These date and times may vary in 2026. 
• Meal Deliveries – weekly on Wednesdays. Food pickup is between 10:45 -11:30 am at the Cargill Hub in St Louis Park. Delivery routes are approximately 2 hours and have typically 4-8 stops. Meal delivery routes and schedules are coordinated by Jerry Lichstsinn  - jerrylichtsinn@gmail.com.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL CCA VOLUNTEER IMPACT: Together with Open Arms in the 2025 season, CCA/Cargill volunteers: chopped 275 lbs. of produce, portioned/chopped 288 quesadillas and 100 lbs. of pork loin, bagged 27 lbs. of English Muffins and 52 bags of can goods, packed 2,636 meals, packed 518 nausea care, granola and protein packs and sanitized/cleaned 257 storage bins.

ABOUT OPEN ARMS:

• Open Arms of Minnesota is a nonprofit that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals free of cost to critically ill Minnesotans and their loved ones. They served  about 3,700 clients, caregivers and dependents and cooked and delivered approximately 915,000 meals.
• Open Arms’ clients are people who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, MS, ALS, ESRD, CHF, COPD, or have a compromised nutritional status and/or difficulty accessing or preparing healthy foods.
• Volunteers are the heart and soul of Open Arms. In 2024-25, 6,392 volunteers donated 74,589 hours of their time (equaling ~35.5 employees ) to prepare and deliver client meals.  
• Open Arms Introduction
• Website: https://www.openarmsmn.org       

PROJECT LEAD/CONTACT INFORMATION:

• CCA - Jan Weisberg:  612-220-9052     email: janiceweisberg01@gmail.com
• Cargill - Jerry Lichtsinn:  952-984-8414 email: jerrylichtsinn@gmail.com

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: 

CCA sponsored group event - Build CSA boxes and pack farm grown produce into those boxes via an assembly line. Desired shift size is 8 to 12 volunteers. Volunteers must be 16 years old or more. 

LOCATION: 1790 Larpenteur Ave. W., Falcon Heights, MN 55113

DAYS AND TIMES: Food Share Produce Packing events are from 1:00 to 4:00 pm the third Tuesday of each month from June through October.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL CCA VOLUNTEER IMPACT: CCA members and guests volunteered 195 hours of their time, an estimated value of $6,780 to TGA.

ABOUT TGA:

• TGA is a nonprofit food hub that provides services, support, and skills to farmers, food-makers, and consumers.
• Their mission is to unlock economic opportunity for farmers in our region through a unique combination of personalized support and market development.
• Through their programs and services, they help growers, makers, partners, consumers, buyers, and donors sustain a healthier, more equitable food system.
  
  • In 2025, TGA moved 15,192 CSA boxes to Twin Cities homes and directed nearly $2.9 million in purchasing to local farmers. 
  • In 2024, TGA spent over $2.4 million with local farmers and food businesses; 78% of the produce spending was with BIPOC Growers, and 270,000 lbs. of produce was donated to Hunger Relief Organizations.

• Website: Home - The Good Acre

CCA PROJECT LEAD(PL)/CONTACT(OC):

PL:  Jan Weisberg: 612.220.9052  email: janiceweisberg01@gmail.com

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY:  Home construction from foundations to final trim at home build sites. CCA also works in the panel plant framing walls during the winter and spring. CCA provides construction workers, crew leaders and general labor.

LOCATION: Various sites in the Metro Twin Cities area.

DATES AND TIMES: Volunteer times - September and October (Cargill-sponsored build): Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Other months: Most Tuesdays when and where Habitat schedules our team, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please volunteer ahead of time in order to ensure proper waivers are completed prior to arriving at the site.

ANNUAL CCA ESTIMATED VOLUNTEER IMPACT: CCA volunteers devote over 2,000 hours annually to H4H to provide families with a finished house. 

ABOUT H4H: 

• Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Habitat’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat focusses on shelter while promoting dignity and hope, supporting sustainable and transformative development and advocating for affordable housing.

• Housing insecurity touches nearly half of adults in the United States at some point in their lives. Most Americans believe that it is challenging to find affordable quality housing in their communities. More than half of all adults say they have made at least one trade-off in order to cover their rent or mortgage, including taking second jobs, cutting back on health care and healthy food, and moving to less safe neighborhoods.

• Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization.

• National Website: https://www.habitat.org/

• Twin Cities Website: https:www.tchabitat.org

• Twin Cities Individual Volunteer Opportunities: https://www.tchabitat.org/volunteer/individual

CCA PROJECT LEAD/CONTACT INFORMATION:

Tom Sasman: 763.218.7627             email: tomsasman@gmail.com

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: CCA volunteers prepare donated items for use by needy families (sort and put silverware, dishes and bedding sets together, assemble dresser kits and clean furniture before client pickup), load and unload trucks, and whatever else needs to be done. Alternatives are available for CCA volunteers with restrictions.

LOCATION: 201 W. 87th Street, Bloomington, MN 55420

DAYS AND TIMES: Four times annually (dates to be determined but, typically Wednesdays) from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL CCA VOLUNTEER IMPACT: Groups of 5 to 7 volunteered about 80 hours in fiscal 2024 to help Bridging clients transition from homelessness.

ABOUT BRIDGING:

• Through the effective reuse of donated items, Bridging improves lives by providing quality furniture and household goods to those transitioning out of homelessness. Bridging serves more than 5,300 households in the Twin Cities 7-county area, annually, with a small paid staff, nearly 5,000 volunteers and more than 270 social service agencies.
• The average value of the home furnishings and essentials provided to a family is $1,800 (thrift store value).
• in 2024, more than 40% of the individuals served are children under the age of 17. 85% of clients have a household income of less than $20,000 per year.
• Since 1987, Bridging has served nearly 115,000 households (more than 345,000 individuals), and reduced landfill space by 14 million pounds each year. 
• Individual Volunteer Opportunities: https://www.bridging.org/engage/volunteer/

CCA PROJECT LEAD/CONTACT:

Gene Van't Hof: 612.877.0533        email: gvanthof@comcast.net