Dorothy Day Food Pantry Needs Your Help

Dorothy Day Food Pantry, located in Moorhead, Minnesota, is a non-profit hunger relief organization accepting donations and volunteers. Learn more about this great cause now!

COVID-19 has had an enormous effect on food pantries across Fargo-Moorhead. Staff there report an upsurge in demand of 40% since its start; particularly notable is Dorothy Day Pantry, operated by Churches United, which houses one of the region’s largest fresh food pantries.

Donations

As COVID-19 drives food prices sky-high, Koesterman says that her pantry is struggling to stock its shelves. “We’re having to do much more grocery shopping at an ever-increasing cost.”

Shelters that double as soup kitchens have been hit hard by the pandemic. These organizations depend heavily on donations from supermarkets, restaurants, and vendors – huge donations – from chain supermarkets, restaurants, and vendors to feed tens or hundreds of people daily; small contributions such as one or two cans of food don’t make much of a difference.

Sparklight of Fargo recently provided both Dorothy Day Food Pantries in Moorhead and West Fargo with a significant boost thanks to their internet provider, offering each location Microsoft Surface computers, software, and ID card scanners to replace time-consuming paper-and-pencil sign-up processes that had become significantly slower due to pandemic restrictions.

Volunteer Opportunities

Dorothy Day Food Pantry relies heavily on volunteers and donations to fulfill its mission and offers several ways you can volunteer your time to make our community hunger-free. You could help stock shelves, organize pantry items in our walk-in refrigerator/freezer unit, and transport grocery delivery bags directly to families without transportation; our Dorothy Day Center/Catholic Worker grocery delivery days occur every third and fourth Saturday between October through May and June through September from 8:30 a.m. onward.

Hours of Operation

Dorothy Day provides monthly food baskets to families in Cass and Clay Counties. Each basket offers enough essentials to feed a family for three days, and clients can come once per month to collect it, provided they bring identification and proof of residency. In addition, our food pantry also serves hot, homemade meals Monday-Saturday during service hours through an outdoor drive-thru only available to those qualifying based on federal poverty metrics.

Pantry staff at Churches United have experienced a 40% spike in demand over the past several months, according to Sue Koesterman, executive director. COVID-19 regulations and restrictions on social distancing have presented challenges, particularly after Dorothy Day House of Hospitality and Food Program joined the Churches United umbrella in 2020. As Great Plains Food Bank remains their leading supplier in most local programs, shipping challenges continue, and availability issues become problematic; these challenges are particularly felt among items required for nutritional balance such as eggs, meat, and fresh produce – as Koesterman notes they must ensure adequate healthy balance in these programs in terms of availability as perishable items essential for such healthy balance such as eggs, meat or fresh produce are experiencing difficulties as perishable foods required for balanced healthy balance are struck;

Contact Information

Dorothy Day Food Pantry in Moorhead, Minnesota, is a non-profit hunger relief organization dedicated to collecting and disbursing donations from generous people who don’t want anyone going hungry. Visit their website for donation details, operating hours, volunteer opportunities, and further information about this pantry.

Churches United for the Homeless operates a food pantry in Fargo-Moorhead and also runs a homeless shelter, three emergency shelters, and a supportive housing program in Fargo-Moorhead. Rising food costs, inflationary pressures, and supply chain interruptions have caused emergency food programs across America severe hardship since 2020; need has doubled due to COVID-19’s widespread impact.