Food insecurity is harmful to all people, but it is particularly devastating to children. Proper nutrition is critical to a child’s development. Not having enough of the right kinds of food can have serious implications for a child’s physical and mental health, academic achievement and future economic prosperity. 

Nationally 1 in 5 children live with food insecurity, locally in Lonsdale we help an average of 40 families a month. With in those 40 families there are 53 children and 52 adults! More than half the food that goes out the LAFS's doors are going to children in Lonsdale.

LAFS tries provide nutritious foods as often and in as many forms as we can. If you wish to help us in this fight against hunger in our own community please consider supporting us. There are many ways for you to support LAFS, just check out the Supporting LAFS page for more info or you may click here to donate using a credit card online.

Please watch this inspiring video from Feeding America.

Thank you to the Lakeville, MN facility of ConAgra Foods, Inc. for their wonderful donation of Fruit Snacks and Granola Bars this week. We applaud your dedication to help the fight against hunger. Want to see what all they are doing just check out their twitter feed!

Operation Round Up (ORU) is one way MVEC members work together to make a difference. By rounding up your monthly electric bill to the nearest whole dollar, that extra change of 1 cent to 99 cents adds up and is used to fund request by local charitable organizations.

Here's how it works. If your bill is $75.22, it is rounded up to $76.00 and the extra 78 cents goes to the ORU Fund. Multiply all that extra change by the thousands of generous MVEC members who participate and it makes a BIG difference in our local communities.

This unique program has provided funds for purchasing various items for local fire departments, women's shelters, groups serving youth, and food shelves such as LAFS!

Sign up at http://www.mvec.net/operation-round-up-sign-up/

Lonsdale Area Food Shelf brings back-to-school excitement to 53 students
By LORI NICKEL lnickel@lonsdalenewsreview.com | Posted: Sunday, August 16, 2015 7:14 pm


Supply Our Students volunteersVolunteers who helped with the Supply Our Students program at the Lonsdale Area Food Shelf are (from left) Co-Coordinator Jenna Heimer, Volunteer Mary Alice Kreuser and Executive Director Tami Heimer. Not pictured are Co-Coordinator Bev Boyda, Board President Kathy Vosejpka and Treasurer and Accounting Coordinator Bradley Heimer. (Lori Nickel/News-Review)


Excitement was in the air on Thursday, Aug. 13, as volunteers prepared for a special day at the Lonsdale Area Food Shelf (LAFS).

With the average national cost of school supplies being around $100 per child, the LAFS Board of Directors made the decision to help the families it regularly serves by providing the children with their necessary supplies.

After months of planning, the program, called Supply Our Students (SOS), came to a happy end on Thursday when it provided 53 students with their complete list of school supplies, as specified by their schools. The children were invited to the Lonsdale Area Food Shelf, located at 130 Delaware St. SE, to pick out a new backpack and collect their paper, pencils, pens, markers and everything else on their classroom lists.

Co-coordinators of the program are Jenna Heimer and Bev Boyda. Over the past two months, they asked families using the food shelf to sign up for SOS. Parents provided information on their children’s grades and school so Jenna and Bev could get the supply lists and get to work.

The need for classroom supplies is high, something Jenna knows all too well.

“I’m a teacher and I see kids come to school without supplies,” Jenna said. “I want to start them out on the right foot.”

Also helping out with SOS were volunteers Mary Alice Krause, board president Kathy Vosejpka, executive director Tami Heimer, and board treasurer and accounting coordinator Bradley Heimer.

Jenna said they spent approximately $2,000 total and purchased in bulk when possible. To afford SOS, Tami explained that they received a generous donation from Round Bank in New Prague, and Performance Paper in Lakeville donated several reams of copy paper. Private individuals also contributed monetarily toward the program while others donated school supplies.

To add to Thursday’s excitement, the food shelf received donations of ice cream cones and ice cream. As the families stopped in to pick up their supplies Thursday, volunteer Dennis Vosejpka was on hand scooping ice cream, making the day even sweeter.

How to help

Next week, food shelf volunteers will complete distributing school supplies to the families registered for SOS. However, donations are always needed and a variety of options are listed on the website at www.lonsdaleareafoodshelf.org.

The food shelf is open every Thursday from 12:30 to 5 p.m., and on the first and third Thursdays of each month it is open until 6 p.m. For more information on how to help, call 507-744-7453 or email Lonsdalefoodshelf@gmail.com.