Longville Area Food Shelf

The Longville Area Food Shelf is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to involve our communities to end hunger.

The Longville Area Food Shelf also operates the Tossed & Found Boutique thrift store. Proceeds from the thrift store cover all overhead expenses for the food shelf.  This means, 100% of your monetary donation is used to benefit our food shelf shoppers.  No donations are ever used for maintenance, utilities, repairs or payroll.  

In addition to supplying food, the Longville Area Food Shelf also helps our community in many other ways.

● In August we provide backpacks and school supplies for kids.

● In the late fall, we partner with the Knights of Columbus to provide coats, snow pants, hats and mittens to kids.

● We supply warm socks.

● We supply night lights to help prevent falls.

● We partner with the MN Diaper Bank to provide diapers for our shoppers at no cost.

● We manage the distribution of pet food for Lou Lou’s Pet Pantry, located inside our food shelf.

● In extreme cases we can help with utility bills, rent, auto repairs, and basic needs through our Emergency Assistance program.

● We help with clothing and household goods for people in need (fire victims, people displaced from their homes, etc.).

● We distribute food packages according to the CSFP (Commodity Senior Food Program).

● For the holidays, we provide turkeys, hams and other holiday foods for our shoppers.

One of the challenges our food shelf faces is the increasing cost of food. Demands on all food shelves across the region have increased dramatically. This means the demand for food banks like Second Harvest Northland has increased dramatically as well. The Longville Area Food Shelf food costs increased by 23% from 2023 to 2024. That increase is expected to continue this year and into 2026. This is partially because of limited supply. We are only able to get about 50% of the food we need from Second Harvest. Most of the food we need to purchase from other sources is fresh produce and dairy products like milk, eggs, cheese, and butter. To ensure our fruit, vegetables and dairy are fresh, our food shelf purchases almost all these items from other wholesale vendors. 

In 2022 The Longville Area Food Shelf, guided by the University of Minnesota Extension Health and Nutrition Team, was transformed into a Super Shelf. What does this mean? It means we are committed to providing a welcoming and dignified shopping experience and providing healthier foods in a grocery store atmosphere. In other words, we strive to consistently provide not only shelf stable food, but also fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, and a variety of meats and proteins to our shoppers. My favorite memory after becoming a super shelf is walking into the shopping area and witnessing one of our shoppers squeal with delight when she saw the fresh produce! That made all the work of transforming into a Super Shelf all worthwhile!

We are so grateful to live in the generous and caring community of Longville! It is because of our generous donors, and shoppers, that we can help our community in so many wonderful ways! Please help us to continue to be able to do our work in the challenging years ahead. We are often asked what we need the most at our food shelf… The answer to this is monetary funds. Our purchasing power is much greater by purchasing in bulk. We can make a $10 donation go much further than your individual $10 alone. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 308, Longville, MN 56655, dropped off at the Longville Area Food Shelf, or Tossed & Found Boutique. Or you can make an online by clicking the Donate Button, above.

Thank you so much for 28 years of support to our Food Shelf!

Andrea Richard, Executive Director

Whether you are a volunteer, have donated or shop at our food shelf or thrift store, everyone is welcome here.

                                                     HOURS OF OPERATION:

EVERY WEDNESDAY • 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM