Plus , he said , the need is greater than ever before . “ We ’ ve had a 40 percent increase in need over the same time last year . Rising needs , rising costs and being able to retain staff have made that financial burden more real . That and the elimination of COVID relief programs that had helped ease the burden in prior years .”
Rising inflation is also an issue . Petersen said that typically the number of people served by the food bank goes down in the summer , and starts to rise in the fall . Instead , the numbers stayed steady during summer 2022 and started to rise in the fall .
“ We ’ re seeing more visits now than we did during the pandemic ,” said Petersen . “ There are a lot of people out there hurting .”
The number of people being served by the White Bear Area Food Shelf doubled from 2016 to 2019 , and then increased again by 40 percent in 2022 because of the pandemic .
The best way to assist The White Bear Area Food Shelf is to make a cash donation . People can also help out the organization by doing food drives . Items most in demand include cereal , cooking oil , peanut butter , baby food and formula . Donations of diapers and baby wipes , and paper bags are also needed and appreciated .
Learn more about how you can help out online at Whitebearfoodshelf . org / food-donations
White Bear Area Food Shelf
1884 Whitaker Street White Bear Lake , MN 55110 Phone : 651-407-5310 Email : info @ whitebearfoodshelf . org
Curbside Pick-Up Food Shelf
Hours
Monday & Tuesday , 4 p . m . – 7 p . m . Wednesday , Thursday & Friday , 11 a . m . – 2 p . m . Thursday , Free Farmer ’ s Markets – various times and locations Saturday & Sunday , Closed
Outdoor Donation Hours
Monday & Tuesday , 9 a . m . – 6 p . m . Wednesday , Thursday & Friday , 9 a . m . – 2 p . m . Saturday & Sunday , Closed
Solid Ground
There was a lot of change in 2022 at Solid Ground , a nonprofit whose mission is to prevent and end homelessness for families with children . Several new staff members have signed on in the past year , and the organization has done a lot of prevention work , helping families with back rent or with relocating their housing so they can avoid homelessness .
According to Executive Director Trisha Cummins Kauffman , Solid Ground resumed in-person events in 2022 . In May , the Every Family Needs a Home breakfast was held . The Bring it Home gala took place in October .
“ Both events were very successful . They met or exceeded our goals , which is extremely helpful because 2022 was kind of a tough year for fundraising . Being able to meet our event goals is really important to
continuing the work that we do ,” said Kauffman .
Efforts are also underway to bring back on site programming to the organization ’ s White Bear Lake location , including volunteer programs like after-school tutoring . “ We have kids in need , but not enough tutors to serve them ,” said Kauffman .
Solid Ground was founded in 1987 , and helps families that have experienced homelessness by providing them with access to both time-limited and permanent supportive housing that is either site-based or scattered-site type of housing . For site-based housing , Solid Ground owns a building in White Bear Lake , and partners as the onsite service provider with another owner of a building in Maplewood . The organization also works with landlords to provide scattered site housing throughout Ramsey and Washington Counties .
“ We pay part of the rent to make the housing affordable to families , and we bring services to families at their home , or we can meet them in the community , or at work ,” said Kauffman .
There are plans to remodel Solid Ground ’ s East Metro Place site in White Bear Lake . “ The main purpose of that project is to provide a new secure entry in the building that will create a more welcoming environment for families and visitors . We also plan to improve the program spaces to make them more relevant to today ’ s services ,” said Kauffmann , who added that the building is aging and in need of a refresh .
28 Northeast Metro Business