Food Distribution Initiatives
2020-present
We believe sustainable access to food is not only imperative for
health and well-being but is a human right.
2026 Rapid Response Food Distribution
Since the end of 2025, GMCC has pivoted to respond to urgent needs in our community. We have put our Pop-Up Food Shelf program on pause until Summer 2026 in order to focus on delivering groceries to families & individuals in need, who may currently feel unsafe leaving their homes.
For more information, click here or read the blog post to the right:
Ag In Action: GMCC’s Minnesota Venture Farms
Minnesota State Mankato, 3 Partners Receive $224,744 USDA Grant to support Ag In Action Project to support food and agriculture education.
Pop Up Food Shelf and Hot Meal Distribution: 2025
Thanks to a fifth round of funding from Hennepin County, we continue to operate the GMCC Food Shelf out of our building, distributing food bags to individuals, neighbors, and families in need. We began receiving donations from Twin Cities Food Justice & Whole Foods, providing an assortment of foods every week, including bread, cakes, ready-to-eat meals, fresh fruits, and cheeses. To decrease food waste, we developed a new ordering system, ensuring that bags are packed only with the items individuals want. New grocery items that participants can order include staples like meat, butter, oil, rice, and flour. Kitchen Coalition meals, from Pham’s and Oasis, have been increased to 305 a week. So far in 2025, we have distributed 3,678 food bags and 7,675 meals.
Pop Up Food Shelf and Hot Meal Distribution: 2024
Thanks to a fourth round of funding from Hennepin County, we continued to operate the GMCC Pop Up Food Shelf distributing food bags to individuals, neighbors, and families in need. Due to increasing need, we started a new system of packing bags indoors and bringing them outside to participants on Fridays. We were also able to provide a variety of different produce from the Food Group, such as peppers, radishes, tomatoes, and more.
We distributed an average of 157 food bags per week, making a total of 7,553 in 2024. We also increased our Kitchen Coalition meal distribution to 250 meals per week, and distributed a total of 11,300 meals. Youthprise provided food for our 2024 STEAM Summer Camp, distributing 3,750 total meals to youth.
Pop Up Food Shelf and Hot Meal Distribution: July – November 2023
Thanks to a third round of funding from Hennepin County, we continued to operate the GMCC Pop Up Food Shelf distributing food bags to individuals, neighbors, and families in need. Food bags included an assortment of fresh produce, shelf stable items, pantry basics, yogurt, eggs, cheese, and more. Food options differ week to week and based on demand / communicated needs. We distributed an average of 110 food bags per week, and a total of 2,663. Additionally, through a partnership with Kitchen Coalition we were able to provide 3,576 culturally appropriate, healthy hot meals. Thanks to Youthprise, we were able to provide free breakfast & lunch to the youth in our Genius Labs Summer Camp, adding up to a total of 2,500 meals.
Pop Up Food Shelf: September – December 2022
Thanks to a second round of funding from Hennepin County, we were able to open up our GMCC Pop Up Food Shelf for another season distributing food bags to individuals and families in need. Food bags included an assortment of culturally appropriate fresh produce, shelf stable items, meats, and eggs from our Lake Street facility and from two area mosques.
–Provided healthy snacks for 200 people as part of a Health and Legal Fair in partnership with Abubakar Mosque; ⅓ of a mile from our facility in Midtown Phillips
– Provided 326 nutritious, prepared meals and distributed 1015 food bags to our constituent families, youth program participants, and to our unsheltered neighbors (*300 of the food bags were valued at $100/bag and meant to feed a family of five)
Iftar Meals – Spring 2022
GMCC and Executive Director of West Bank Athletic Club, Coach Ahmed, partnered to bring 400 hot culturally appropriate prepared meals to Afghan refugees at Masjid Rawdah (Somali Cultural Institute) each Saturday of Ramadan (April 2 – May 1, 2022).
What is Ramadan? For the Muslim and Islam community, Ramadan is a holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer. It is celebrated as the month during which the profit Muhammad received the initial revelations of the Quran, the holy book for Muslims. Additionally, fasting is one of the five fundamental principles of Islam. Each day during Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to sunset.
What is iftar? After the sunset prayer, communities, families, and friends gather in their homes or mosques to break their fast with a meal called ifṭār that is often shared with friends and extended family.
Pop Up Food Shelf and Meal Distribution – 2021
In continued commitment to the concept of “full family support”, with funding from Hennepin County, we continue to feed our communities with prepared meals and take home food boxes that contain healthy perishable and non-perishable food items. Our food distribution efforts in fall/winter 2021 included: meals and food bags for the families of youth who participated in our fall Genius Labs and Tech Teens programming; a pop-up food shelf through which we distribute food to anyone who needs it; and the distribution of food through partner faith communities and those living in our immediate neighborhoods.
Specifically, we provided 1,412 nutritious prepared meals to our neighbors and constituent families and served 713 families and neighbors with food bags that included 8,000 pounds of fresh produce, meat, and non-perishables
Cultural Meal Distribution 2020
When COVID-19 resulted in food access challenges for some communities, GMCC partnered with faith and community leaders to launch a food distribution initiative. We opened a kitchen and prepared and delivered daily, culturally appropriate nutritious meals to seven Twin Cities communities. By the end of 2020, we were delivering 7,000 meals per week. This initiative inspired our reputation as one of the only effective halal food distribution networks in the area. Additionally, we worked with mosques and other partners to provide take home food and supply boxes for 150 families. We delivered a total of 57,000 meals in 2020.
