hunger Archives - KVRR Local News

Students Prepare to Fill the Dome

The annual charitable event has been taking place since 2007. The location for the pick-up area this year is slightly different.

November 23, 2025

Gabriel Ostler,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Local students are again gearing up to collect supplies and raise money for the vulnerable members of our community. It’s almost time for the annual Fill the Dome event at the Fargodome. It’s been taking place since 2007 and has collected 2.6 million pounds of food in that time. This year, the Metro Area Student Ambassadors…

Churches United Hosts Annual Gourmet Soup Kitchen

The fundraiser is one of the organization's most critical events, especially leading into the cold winter months.

October 30, 2025

Gabriel Ostler,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The soup was flowing tonight at the Dakota Medical Foundation, with community chefs contributing unique recipes for a great cause. It was the annual Gourmet Soup Kitchen event put on by Churches United. The Moorhead-based nonprofit is in a much better financial state than they were in 2024, but they still can use all the help…

Feed the Hungry Tour Stops in Fargo

Richard Demers says that once he did research about how pervasive of a problem food insecurity is in the U.S. and Canada, he felt he had to do something to combat the phenomenon.

September 3, 2025

Gabriel Ostler,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The Fargo Air Museum is known for, well, its classic aircrafts. But on September 3rd, it hosted a different kind of vintage conveyance for a very special cause. Richard Demers grew passionate about fighting hunger after seeing the problem up close in his native Canada, and decided to hop behind the wheel of his 1932 Dodge DK8…

Free School Lunches Proposed for North Dakotans

The bill would use money from the Legacy fund to ensure kids were properly fed every day at school.

February 20, 2025

Gabriel Ostler,

BISMARCK, N.D. – Free school meals could be coming to North Dakota public schools. A House bill with bipartisan support would appropriate $140 million from the Legacy Fund to cover school lunches for two years. Other supporters of the bill include student council members, a spokesperson from the American Heart Association, and the president of North Dakota AFL-CIO. They say…

Great Plains Food Bank considering major changes for child hunger program

August 27, 2024

Jim Monk, Alex Bertsch,

FARGO (KVRR) – Major funding changes appear likely for a program that fights childhood hunger by providing students with food to take home for meals on weekends. The Great Plains Food Bank fully funds its “Backpack” program for students in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo, but other school districts served by the food bank cover the entire cost for themselves….

Feed My Starving Children FargoPack Ends Just Shy of 10 Million Meal Goal

January 14, 2024

TJ Nelson,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — After 10 days of packing meals for hungry kids around the globe, Feed My Starving Children FargoPack has just missed its goal of 10 million meals. The volunteer effort packed a total of 9,712,224 meals. That is enough to feed 26,608 kids every day for a year. Over the past ten days, 27,000 people volunteered their…

Great Plains Food Bank receives close to $100,000 in donation from Hornbacher’s

January 10, 2024

Aaron Walling,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The Great Plains Food Bank received a huge donation Wednesday from Hornbacher’s to help with their operations. The $98,991 came from the Feed Hope campaign, which ran during December. “Never ceases to amaze me what our community does for those in need,” said Matt Leiseth, the president of Hornbacher’s. “When they see that there is a…

MN Senate Passes Free School Meals, Gets National Attention for Senator’s Comments

March 15, 2023

TJ Nelson,

ST. PAUL (KVRR/AP) — A vote on free lunches and breakfasts for Minnesota students regardless of income is getting national attention for what one Senator had to say. The Senate passed the bill 38-26. It has been a Democratic priority this session but even a few Republicans crossed over. It’s estimated that the program will cost the state about $400…

Food demand high at North Dakota’s only food bank

February 14, 2022

Jim Monk,

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota’s only food bank experienced the second-highest demand in its 39-year history in 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic surged. Great Plains Food Bank, based in Fargo, provided 12.6 million meals for those in need in 2021. The non-for-profit organization helped 121,000 people, more than in any year before the pandemic. As the pandemic gathered steam in…

Great Plains Food Bank provides record 21 million pounds of food in 2020

February 9, 2021

Jim Monk,

FARGO (KVRR) – Due to the economic impacts of COVID-19, the Great Plains Food Bank says there was an “unprecedented need” for food assistance in North Dakota and western Minnesota last year Great Plains Food Bank President Melissa Sobolik says the organization provided enough food for 17.7 million meals, which is nearly five million meals more than 2019. “These were…