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Sunday, March 31 is the deadline for people to get their food shelf donations  in and be included in the Minnesota March FoodShare month matching grant.

According to a press release Monday, all donations of food or money will be counted toward the additional grant money awarded to participating Minnesota food shelves by the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches (GMCC) FoodShare program.

Each year, thousands of Minnesotans come together for the largest grassroots food and fund drive in the state – the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign. Over $18 million has been distributed to local Minnesota food shelves participating in this FoodFund event.

One hundred percent of donations received by Minnesota FoodShare food shelves during the March campaign are included in the FoodFund formula and grant money is distributed to the local food shelves based on the total donations, both food and money, that they receive during March. The more donations the Mower County Food Shelf at the Salvation Army in Austin gets, the more matching money the FoodFund will give to our local food shelf. Now is the time to donate.

There are several ways to participate and give before the deadline. You can donate food items, such as: protein foods (meat, fish, beans), fruits and vegetables, complete meals, whole grains and personal care products. These items can be brought to the Austin Salvation Army or dropped off at any participating local organization. Those organizations are:

•  Salvation Army Thrift Store

• Hormel Foods

• Hy-Vee (barrel in entry way)

• Jim’s SuperValu

• Our Saviors Church

• Accentra Credit Union

• First Congregational Church

• Bremer Bank

• Grace Lutheran Church

• Mower County Employees Credit Union

• St. John’s Church

• CRC Employees

• Crane Chapel

• Boy Scouts Food Drive

• South Grove Lodge Senior Living

The Boy Scouts recently completed their food drive and collected over 1,000 pounds of food for the March FoodShare event, but more is needed.

Checks can be dropped off at the Salvation Army or mailed to the Salvation Army at 409 First Ave NE Austin, MN 55912. Write Food Drive on the memo line of your check.

Donations are always welcome and needed but all money and food given during the Minnesota March FoodShare campaign before March 31 will be matched by a grant from the FoodShare FoodFund. Call the Austin Salvation Army at 437-4566 for more information.