FINNEGANS Community Fund

FINNEGANS Community Fund

FINNEGANS Community Fund's (FCF) mission is to alleviate hunger through sustainable, scalable and innovative methods and partnerships and to serve as a catalyst for social entrepreneurs to advance charitable purposes. 

In Minnesota, fresh produce is purchased from local farms and distributed to area food shelves through the The Food Group’s Local Food for Every Table program.   This Give to the Max Day we are focusing on fundraising to support The Food Group's locally sourced food, one of many ways they strengthen our local food system and alleviate hunger.  So give what you can, and share with your network to help us widen the net!

Then, join us 11/21 to celebrate the season's giving at the FINNEGANS Residency at Fulton Taproom, 5-7pm.  Bring an in-kind food donation to get a BOGO (buy one get one free) on your beverage of choice.

Why now?

In 2024 there were 8.9 million food shelf visits in MN, 3x higher than pre-pandemic and on track to reach this amount in 2025. Grocery prices are at an all time high.  440k Minnesotans are currently impacted by SNAP benefit delay/cuts due to the government shut down, and many of these people are also impacted longer term by new cuts to the program put into place earlier this year.

Why Local Food?

We've been partnering with The Food Group (among our other food bank partners) since 2010 to support local farms.  

Fresh fruits and vegetables were ranked one of the top four most important food categories in a survey of over 7,000 food shelf shoppers in the most recent food shelf survey - but they are only available 51% of the time. With support from FINNEGANS, Local Food for Every Table (LFET) helps increase the supply of these nutritious foods at food shelves

Your help will provide access to fresh, local crops like summer squash, strawberries, spring onions, asparagus, and radish to name a few.  Food shelves often have to sort through foods nearing the end of their shelf life to distribute, but LFET sources top quality products straight from the farm.

Local Food for Every Table (LFET) also provides vital market support for local farmers.  The program  supports businesses like Mario's farm, operated by Mario Alvarez with crucial market support.

It also increases access to the freshest ingredients for food shelf shoppers, like these cherry tomatoes.

"We regularly hear from partners during the growing season that our local produce is the freshest and most appealing produce they can distribute to their partners. It goes a long way to helping their shoppers know they are worth it." - The Food Group's Agency Relations Program Manager.

You help provide hope that together with our community of farmers, food shelf partners, shoppers, and volunteers, we can build a more equitable local food system!