Guardsmen take to the streets to help Becker County Food Pantry
A total of 980 pounds of food and several cash donations were collected.
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (KVRR) -The Detroit Lakes unit of the Minnesota National Guard took to the streets to help the Becker County Food Pantry.
With a mission to help end hunger, soldiers suited up in their camouflage uniforms and marched down Washington Avenue in Detroit Lakes, collecting food items for the Becker County Food Pantry.
“They give us a variety of different items, that we normally wouldn’t stock up on, providing a little extra that goes out to our clients,” said Brad Carlson, Becker County Food Pantry Executive Director.
The soldiers rushed over to people lined up on the streets and in their vehicles, grabbing anything from cereal to canned peas.
The food donation drive “Operations Hunger Resolve” was created to make up some of the loss in donations that the food pantry usually gets from the CP Holiday Train – a food drive that was discontinued due to COVID-19.
While the Holiday Train won’t be making any stops in the area this year, they are hosting a virtual concert on its Facebook page next Saturday.
“It was really important to show that we are a part of the community, we are not separated from the community. We work in these communities, we live here and without community support a lot of this stuff would not happen,” said Captain Zachary Hendrickson, Minnesota National Guard.
A total of 980 pounds of food and several cash donations were collected at the end of the drive.
Although this may seem like a large amount, it won’t last long.
“This is just an extra bonus for us, and like I told the guys, this will be gone in two hours,” explained Carlson.
Due to the great turnout, Captain Hendrickson hopes the guardsmen can continue this in the future.
“We hope to make it an annual event, it just really depends on what is going on.”
The Becker County Food Pantry appreciates all nonperishable food items and cash donations.
A donation link can be found here.
