Addressing Food/Nutrition Needs

‘End Hunger Together’ with Second Harvest and WCCO 

In addition to the food packing we do at Second Harvest Heartland, several of our members also volunteered at the End Hunger Together radiothon on February 4, 2025. The event, hosted by News Talk 830 WCCO, raised $427,000 to support Second Harvest and fight hunger in Minnesota! CCA members Karen Story, Tracy Johnson and Deanna Reisdorfer (left in picture) were busy answering phones with the WCCO news team, sharing the event’s mission and accepting donations for this important cause. 

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The Food Group and CCA Going Strong

John Tschumperlin has led this project team since his retirement in 2007.  The first Wednesday of every month, the CCA group prides itself on exceeding the “production goals.” The Food Group’s anti-hunger work serves all 87 counties in Minnesota and areas of Western Wisconsin.  

     

  

       Long time participants Roy and Aleda Jacobson
                     affix labels to bags                              

                                                                                                           Terri Ahonen and Kristin Seela
                                                                                                               test out some new sealers


Filling boxes with produce for the

Fare for All program





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The Good Acres Offers Fresh, Local Produce  
 
The Good Acre (TGA) is the largest nonprofit food hub in Minnesota. They are dedicated to empowering farmers and food entrepreneurs to achieve economic prosperity. Their Community Supported Agriculture program gives community members access to a wide variety of healthy, seasonal produce from a broad network of local, culturally diverse farmers.  
 
Last year TGA was able to procure over $2,700,000 worth of products from a diverse network of farmer partners and local businesses, 75 percent of which came from minority growers and makers.

To learn more about TGA, go to https://thegoodacre.org/
 
Again this year, CCA will support TGA by sponsoring monthly food-packing events in the afternoon on the third Tuesday of each month, from June through October.                                                                       Return to TOP

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Pack at the Target Field for Feed My Starving Children 

 

The sun will rise on a special day, 
At Target Field, we will make a way. 
Not with bats or gloves in hand, 
But hearts united, a mission planned. 

 

No crack of a bat, no roaring cheer, 
Yet hope will echo, loud and clear. 
As tables stand where players run, 
We will pack with love, one by one. 

Rice and soy, a measured pour, 
Veggies, vitamins—health restored. 
A simple meal, a lifeline made, 
For hungry hands so long betrayed. 

Side by side, with hearts so wide, 
We will fill each bag with love inside. 
Sealed and stacked, they will find their place, 
Bringing light to a distant face. 

 

So, mark the day, come stand with pride, 
Join the team, be on our side. 
At Target Field, beneath the sun, 
We'll fight the hunger - one by one. 

 

Mark your calendar and invite your family and friends to join us at Target Field! Our packing session is planned for Friday May 16, 2025, from 9 to 11 a.m.

Picture above, left and below:
On February 20, CCA participated in the Northwest Metro Mobile Pack held at Lord of Life church in Maple Grove

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Help the Critically Ill Get Nourishing Meals  
 
Open Arms of Minnesota is a nonprofit that prepares and delivers nourishing meals free of charge to critically ill Minnesotans and their loved ones. It needs volunteers to help this effort. Open Arms has fun, flexible group opportunities in the kitchen, on delivery and at their farms.

In partnership with Cargill, CCA is working with Open Arms to set up recurring kitchen sessions at their St. Paul and Minneapolis Kitchens. Open Arms considers volunteers like us their heart and soul!  
 
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It’s Hard to Learn When You’re Hungry                  Back to TOP

Every Meal is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger. It focuses on filling the food gaps children face, especially on weekends when they’re not able to eat school meals. Children in Pre-K through eighth grade experiencing food insecurity receive weekend food bags, directly and discreetly in their backpacks, at about 375 schools across Minnesota.   

CCA volunteers pack the food bags that are distributed to the students’ backpacks. Please join us for this project to help give the kids the food they need. During the school year, we pack once a month.

CCA members have fun while
helping others! 

Building for the Future

 

Join the Habitat Team in Making a Difference 

Since 1985, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity has partnered with more than 1,900 families to unlock the power of homeownership. Thousands more have stabilized and improved their housing, finances and quality of life through its programs. 

 

Our CCA’s H4H team of about 20 volunteers dedicate about 2,000 work hours per year, building homes in Minneapolis and the western suburbs. Roger Wherry leads our team, contributing about 1,000 hours a year.  The team volunteers on Tuesdays, although some, like Roger, volunteer several days per week. 

 

 

Left to right are Habitat volunteers Steve Pinny, Tom Sasman, Jeff Fetterman, Roger Wherry, Jim Schonoff and Jack Staloch. 

 

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 4,500 house-holds annually.

 

CCA schedules events four times annually. Upcoming dates are on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. on April 16, July 9 and October 8.

                    

                                                                                                                                         

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Education/Future Readiness

CCA Marks 10 Years at Prodeo Academy 

This year is the tenth anniversary of CCA’s association with Prodeo Academy, a Twin Cities charter school. Founded in 2011 and modeling national best practices, Prodeo (which in Latin means “go forward”) welcomes underserved youth, including many from immigrant families.
 
CCA volunteers typically work for two to three hours about every two months on a flexible schedule. Tasks may include helping to stuff several hundred student envelopes with report cards and other materials for the students and their families.  
 
The Prodeo staff newsletter recently thanked volunteers for the difference they make: “Whether supporting small groups in the classroom, enhancing our facilities, creating exciting incentives, organizing school supply drives, assisting with administrative tasks, leading recess, or strengthening our after-school programs — contributions from Prodeo volunteers have directly shaped our scholars’ academic growth, confidence, and long-term success.”

Lydija and John Tschumperlin, David Braden and
Shirley Boyd stuffing report card envelopes

United Way Action Day  

Reserve Thursday, August 7, on your calendars! That’s the Greater Twin Cities United Way Action Day, when CCA members will join the Minnesota Wild and many other volunteers at River Center in Saint Paul to fill backpacks with needed school supplies for students in the metro area.  

This event has been extremely popular in past years, so make sure to plan your vacation or your golf tee-off time around this date. Do not miss this opportunity to celebrate the tenth year of this powerful community-wide volunteer initiative. Help CCA and GTCUW erase limits for Twin Cities students, so they all have an opportunity to thrive in school -- socially, emotionally and academically.  Without Action Day, one in 10 students -- of the more than 100,000 in the greater Twin Cities region -- would not have access to essential and fundamental school supplies that support their day-to-day work in the classroom.
                                             

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