Minneapolis School Donates Huge Amount of Groceries Amid Crisis

The good news in Minneapolis needs to be shared too. Many people were suddenly left without essentials and access to food when many local grocery stores had to close due to the protests caused by the death of George Floyd. A parent at Sanford Middle School in Minneapolis asked the principal of the school, Amy Nelson if there was a way they could help. She suggested some ways to get food to the local children in the district and they came up with a plan to make it happen.

Nelson posted their intention on social media and asked for 85 food kits to be donated to help students and their families. Not long after the message was posted, Nelson realized it was going to be a much bigger turnout than they anticipated. In the midst of so much anger and hate on social media, there are also so many trying to do a good thing. The word spread so fast that the response was incredible. According to TODAY, Nelson expected to receive donations from 10 am to noon on Sunday. But, when she arrived at the school at 8 am, the amount of food that was already delivered was overwhelming. There were so many mounds of groceries that she knew she would be able to help people even beyond her school district. Keep in mind, grocery stores are closed so people had to drive a good distance to be able to purchase the groceries to donate.  This community came together to help those in need in a critical time.  That is when she said The Sheridan Story, a local organization that fights childhood hunger, stepped in to help.

The Sheridan Story shared photos of the mounds of groceries on their social media pages and captioned it with, “As we get close to wrapping up the day, but certainly not our work, our words are few and full of love – the outpouring of community support we experienced today was….simply beautiful!” The good people of the community were so touched and of course, continued to donate. When you have people waiting in line over an HOUR to drop off food, and some even dropping off on the avenue, you know you have a ton of groceries. To see it all must have been overwhelming, but also so incredibly heartwarming.

Sanford Middle School not only partnered with The Sheridan Story, but they also partnered with Culinary and Wellness Services, the school’s nutrition program. They were a big help because they were able to take the perishable items that weren’t able to be distributed quickly.

The middle school is within three blocks from the 3^rd police precinct that was burned during the protests. The school did a beautiful thing. And the community did a beautiful thing. And they all show love and respect during this very emotional time. Nelson, a teacher and administrator in Minnesota for 20 years, said she has never seen anything like it. Rob Williams, executive director and founder of The Sheridan Story, told TODAY, the response was from people of all backgrounds, serving people of all backgrounds. He said this is what they want Minnesota to be about.