SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Corona Help Sioux Falls, The Helpline Center and FeedingSouth Dakota will be moving the centralized community food distribution to the vacated Farewaygrocery store location at 41st Street and Grange Avenue beginning Tuesday, June 2, 2020.
Distributions will continue each Tuesday and Thursday from 1pm – 7pm.
Guests are asked to enter the parking lot using the 41st Street entrance in between Pancheros and 18th Amendment.
“The Expo Building at the W. H. Lyon Fairgrounds have served us well for the past sevenweeks.
As the city of Sioux Falls is beginning to reopen and businesses strive to resume operations, the fairgrounds are no exception and the show must go on,” says Jennifer Stensaas, communications coordinator, Feeding South Dakota.
Since the centralized distributions began on April 13, the number of households served weeklyby Feeding South Dakota have tripled.
“Community need will dictate how long these distributions will continue. At this rate, we do not have the building and location capacity on Westport Avenue to serve nearly 1,500 households each week,” says Matt Gassen, CEO Feeding South Dakota.
“Our Food Pantry will remain closed until we determine it is safe for our staff, volunteers and guests to resume operations.”
Individuals and families in need of food assistance are asked to pre-register athttps://www.helplinecenter.org/foodsf/ for their first visit to one of our community fooddistributions.
Following, guests will be able to receive food assistance every other week and areasked to bring their photo ID.
Janet Kittams, Chief Executive Officer for Helpline Center states, “The Helpline Center is pleased to serve as the initial point of contact for people to register for the food distribution. Individuals can also call 211 to complete the process.”
Volunteers are still needed.
If you are interested in helping with food distributions, please visit https://feedingsouthdakota.org/volunteer/ or https://www.coronahelpsf.com/ and click on the “Iwant to help” button.
“We are thankful for the way the community has served. As people go back to normal schedules, we still need volunteers to step forward to serve and help us care for the needs of our neighbors who are still struggling,” says Rich Merkouris, Corona Help Sioux Falls.
For the most up-to-date information regarding distributions, follow @FeedingSD on Facebookas well as https://feedingsouthdakota.org/mobile.
Monetary donations are needed to continue to assist individuals and families in need during thispandemic.
For every $1 donated, Feeding South Dakota can procure and transport three mealsto hungry South Dakotans.
As donated product is becoming increasingly difficult to source,
Feeding South Dakota has also used donations to purchase staple food items to help fill thegap.
Feeding South Dakota also relies on donated product through its retail store pickup program in partnership with stores like HyVee, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club and Target.
Monetary donations can be made online at https://feedingsouthdakota.org/donate.
###
About Feeding South DakotaFeeding South Dakota, whose mission is to end hunger in South Dakota, is the state’s largestcharitable hunger relief organization. In FY19, Feeding South Dakota secured and distributednearly 15.4 million pounds of quality nutritious donated and purchased food providing 12.8million meals to nearly 100,000 individuals who are food insecure in South Dakota. FeedingSouth Dakota distributes this food from distribution centers in Sioux Falls, Pierre, and RapidCity and through its network of agency partners across the state. For more information onFeeding South Dakota, visit feedingsouthdakota.org and find us on Facebook, Twitter andInstagram.Contacts:Jennifer StensaasFeeding South Dakota, Communications Coordinator605.351.9351jennifer.stensaas@feedingsouthdakota.orgRich MerkourisCorona Help Sioux Falls605.261.2587rich@kingofglorysf.orgJanet KittamsHelpline Center, Chief Executive Officer605.274.1408janet@helplinecenter.org
