Food for Thought Annual Report Edition 2017

Diamond Sponsors

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

Table Sponsor

2017 Empty Bowls Presenting Sponsor

Thank you to our 2017 Empty Bowls Sponsors for helping us raise awareness of hunger in our

communities!

®

Fall, friends and Channel One’sAnnual Empty Bowls event are a perfect combination!What is Empty Bowls? Glad you asked! At Empty Bowls, guests receive a simple meal of soup and bread prepared by top local restaurants and bakeries. Guests can participate in a silent auction for beautiful, hand-crafted bowls, have access to all art exhibits at the Rochester Art Center, and receive a donated hand painted bowl as a reminder of all of the people in our community who would struggle with hunger without the help of Channel One and our partners.

In addition to the Empty Bowls event helping raise awareness of hunger, it also raises necessary funds to help us continue fighting hunger. Each dollar donated to Channel One Regional Food Bank allows us to distribute enough food for four meals, so we are able to stretch your dollars further and make a big impact in the lives of our community members in need.

This life-changing event is held annually at the Rochester Art Center from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. on the Thursday before the public school’s fall break, such as on October 12th this year. Empty Bowls is not only a fun event, but no reservations or invitations are ever required! Tickets can be purchased online or at the door to make sure everyone has the opportunity to attend. Each and every year, this event makes a powerful impact in the fight against hunger, and we thank you all for your support!

Channel One Regional Food Bank, 131 35th Street SE, Rochester, MN 55904 www.helpingfeedpeople.org

Channel One Regional Food Bank is extremely grateful for the support of our community members that help us continue our mission to feed people in need. Every volunteer hour, every food donation and every dollar all add up to us making a positive impact in our community! Some recent gifts include:

Enterprise gifted funds from the Fill Your Tank Campaign that will equal enough food for up to 20,000 meals for our neighbors in need!

The Meals for Many Campaign, championed by Bremer Bank, raised enough funds to provide food for about 8,712 meals!

Morgan Stanley Foundation gave a gift to support our fresh produce program. The funds will be used to purchase two new netting machines and supplies for the processing and distribution of fresh and healthy produce to our neighbors in need.

Otto Bremer Trust recently awarded Channel One a $150,000 grant that will allow us to continue to grow current programs, increase the amount of fresh and healthy foods, and to focus on opportunities for new programs that engage the community in the fight against hunger.

People’s Energy Cooperative Trust’s Operation Round- up gifted enough funds to the Backpack Program to feed 14 kids on weekends and school breaks for an entire school year!

Rochester Area Foundation gifted $1,000 to purchase a new food hopper cart for the warehouse. The Rochester Area Foundation awards annual grants through a competitive application and review process from the weGive365 shareholder endowment held at the Rochester Area Foundation.

Walmart Foundation recently gifted $10,000 to help Channel One and our retail partners continue to work together to fight hunger in our communities.

Coming Up!

• It is time for the 9th Annual Student Food Drive! The dates of this year’s food drive are October 16th - November 10th. We are excited to invite ALL school - age children to participate this year! All schools in our 14-county service area are encouraged to participate, as all food and funds raised directly benefit your local food shelf! If you like to have fun while making a positive impact, get signed up today by contacting Hanna at hannahughes@channel-one.org. You can also sign-up on our website at www.helpingfeedpeople.org.

• The Annual Boy Scouts Scouting for Food Drive will be held on November 18th! Watch for the door hangars and please support the efforts of our local Boy Scouts to help feed people in need.

• Give to the Max Day is on Thursday, November 16th! Please make a donation through the GiveMN.org website under Channel One’s page (use the “find a cause” search function at the top of the page) to help Channel One become eligible to win cash prizes and feed more people in need!

Hunger Fighting Heroes!

Linda Lovik, Interim Executive Director, Channel One, and

Linda Olson, Development & Communications Director,

Channel One, accept Rochester Area Foundation

gift (above).

Linda Olson accepts Enterprise gift (right).