FARGO, N.D. – The Otto Bremer Trust has awarded the Great Plains Food Bank a $75,000 grant that will significantly enhance and elevate the organization’s ability to provide fresh produce to those in need. The generous gift is enough to provide 225,000 meals to feed hungry children, seniors and families across North Dakota and western Minnesota.
Longstanding partners in the fight to end hunger, the Otto Bremer Trust has given more than $700,000 since 2010 to the Great Plains Food Bank to help in its efforts.
The only food bank in the state of North Dakota, the Great Plains Food Bank recovers and distributes more than 21 million pounds of food each year with 36 percent of that being fresh produce. However, there is much room for growth as large amounts of fresh produce remains un-harvested in fields each year.
The grant from the Otto Bremer Trust helps to reaffirm the Great Plains Food Bank’s commitment to its FRESH Produce Initiative, which aims to provide a healthier and more nutritionally balanced mix of food to people struggling with food insecurity across North Dakota and western Minnesota.
“Providing nutritious food products for our clients and certainly fresh produce will always be a focus for us here,” Great Plains Food Bank President Melissa Sobolik said. “There is so much opportunity out there for us to rescue even more produce that is going to waste and this generous grant from the Otto Bremer Trust is crucial for us to be able to do that. We cannot thank the Otto Bremer Trust enough for their commitment to our work and mission.”
The grant also comes at a time when the Great Plains Food Bank has witnessed more than a 40 percent increase in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Find more information on the Otto Bremer Trust HERE.