For Evelyn Williams, 10, cleaning out her old shoes isn’t just about spring cleaning. It’s about helping feed hungry Minnesotans.

“I think that Shoe Away Hunger is a good idea to help people keep their closets nice and neat while helping hungry people get the food that they need,” she said.

From March 1 through 31, the Rock Solid 4-H Club will collect used footwear— even ones that are no longer wearable — to help feed hungry Minnesotans through the Shoe Away Hunger program. This is an ongoing program that helps provide hunger relief for people who struggle to put enough food on the table for their household.

The shoes are brought to a church in the Twin Cities that works with different organizations to help resell the shoes for either resale or to grind up and be made into furniture stuffing or other things.

“So they’re being repurposed in a positive way,” Rock Solid organizer Karla Muller said.

Evelyn was excited to help provide food through the program and learn some lifelong lessons.

“We learn how to help hungry people which is a good skill for when we grow up,” she said. “We also learn how to help the community out.”

Abigail Muller, 13, agreed and was also excited to participate in the good cause, as well as help people clean their closets out.

“We’ve done it before at our church and it’s just a really great project getting to feed hungry people,” Abigail said. “And it’s great for spring cleaning and that sort of thing.”

Every pair of shoes collected will provide a hungry Minnesotan with up to one week of groceries. Not only will a hungry Minnesotan receive needed food, this is also an eco-friendly opportunity to repurpose footwear and keep unwanted shoes from cluttering up closets or sitting for years in landfills. A few years ago, the group collected about 2,000 pounds of shoes.

Muller said the program is a good way for students to come face to face with the hunger in the community and surrounding area.

“It’s a way for [the students] to be aware that we do have hungry people in the community and just fosters that awareness and develops a sense of compassion for reaching out and meeting the needs of other people that are around them,” she said.

Unwanted used footwear, including shoes, roller blades, ice skates and others, can be dropped off in marked boxes at Faith Church, H&R Block, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sterling Main Street, Queen of Angels Catholic Church, the 4-H Building at the Mower County Fairgrounds, Acclaim Studio of Dance Monday through Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m., and also at First Baptist Church in Blooming Prairie.