Their mission and vision is simple: end hunger through community partnerships to provide a hunger-free North Dakota and Clay County Minnesota. The Thomsen crew spent some of the day learning about what the Great Plains Food Bank offers to those in need within our community and our state.
Spending time at Great Plains Food Bank
We had the opportunity to tour the Great Plains warehouse and learn the facts about hunger and the need in our area. To put things in perspective one in nine people are seeking emergency food assistance in the state of North Dakota and Clay county Minnesota. That statistic was alarming for us to even imagine. Great Plains Food Bank is the only food pantry in North Dakota, which means they have a lot of ground to cover. They help reach those in need by delivering food to food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other programs feeding those who are hungry.
Lucky for us, there was plenty to do! Right before we arrived, they received a donation of 89,000 pounds of potatoes and corn. We spent the day packaging potatoes and fueling our competitiveness between teams to see who could get the most packed. We went in three shifts to the food bank to help pack potatoes in 5 lbs. saks. The first group packed 2,259 pounds, the second group packed 2,159 pounds and the last group came through with a whopping 2,351 pounds!
Thomsen Giveback
This year a big initiative as a team is to increase our involvement in our community and give our employees time to give back to a community that has given so much to us, and allowed us to continue to grow! These eye-opening experiences give us the opportunity to see the need in our communities and help be apart of the solution. Stay tuned for more Thomsen giveback experiences!
