Neighbor to Neighbor:

Offering Help and Hope

 
 

Each Tuesday from 7AM to 4PM, St. Alban’s is accepting food donations from the local community for the local community. This month, we’ll deliver all donations to the VEAP food pantry in Bloomington. You donate the food, we’ll get it to the pantry! Simply drop off your food donations (recommendations below) by the red door on the west side of St. Alban’s. We’ll take it from there!

Back-to-School Giving

VEAP has made a special appeal to help local students receive the back-to-school supplies they need. Backpacks and scientific calculators are high-demand items and the most impactful. If you are able, please consider making these a focus of your donations. Traditional supplies like notebooks, paper, pens and pencils are needed as well. Please make sure all items are new.

Preferred items for donation:

  • School supplies — backpacks, scientific calculators, and traditional supplies like pens, pencils, paper, and notebooks.

  • Fresh vegetables

  • Fresh fruit

  • Whole grain products

  • Food low in saturated and trans fats

  • Food low in sodium

  • Lean sources of protein (animal and vegetable sources, canned)

  • Fruit that is minimally processed (canned, dried/dehydrated, or whole) and 100% vegetable juice

  • Products that are high in calcium

  • Beverages including 100% fruit juice or bottled water

  • Basic staple foods that tend to provide the best nutrition per dollar

  • Toilet paper, paper towels, and diapers

  • Gently used or new children’s books are also welcome

VEAP is committed to providing high quality and nutritious food through an on-site food pantry (which looks and feels much like a supermarket), a mobile food pantry, transportation assistance to and from their on-site pantry, and nutrition education. Since 1973, the organization has provided a range of programs to help low-income individuals and families meet their immediate needs and move toward stability—a need that has increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. Today VEAP operates one of the largest food pantries in Minnesota. It provides access to programs for over 10,000 individuals each month through its Food & Basic Needs and Social Services programs.