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Health & Fitness

Help Feed the Hungry by Attending an Awesome Party? Yes, Please!

You can help the food shelf by drinking margaritas, dancing to live music and wearing Hawaiian shirts. Read on, party people!

I’d like to talk for a minute about hunger. The first image that comes to mind for most of us is probably those heart-wrenching commercials of starving children in third-world countries, with sad music playing in the background and a 1-800 number to call.

What about the image of your neighbor who just lost his job? Or your grandparent who can’t get by on social security alone? What about local kids who suddenly have lost two major meals a day because they aren’t in school during the summer? I know, I know, it can be downright uncomfortable to imagine that hunger hits so close to home. But sit back, because we’re about to go there.

Five times every week, the food shelf at Valley Outreach in Stillwater is packed with individuals looking to pick up some extra groceries to help keep themselves and their children from going to bed hungry. In fact, during their last fiscal year, Valley Outreach gave 385,933 pounds of food to Food Shelf clients on 10,216 individual visits; 53,735 items of clothing and 3,929 items of household essentials to Dawn’s Closet clients on 7,303 individual visits, and $90,038.00 in emergency financial assistance to 292 families. Whew!

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While our local food shelf is certainly one of the most expansive and well-stocked food shelves I’ve ever seen, they struggle to keep their shelves stocked during the summer. The biggest reason is the old economics problem we all studied in school: demand is up but supply is down. In the business world, this can be a good thing, but in the nonprofit world, it can be quite troublesome. While there’s really not a scientific way of knowing, I think supply is down because we’re all so BUSY during the summer. It’s easy to remember a food shelf during the holidays or during back to school time, but I personally have never donated to a food shelf in the summer (until now, that is). One big reason why demand is up is that students are out of school, and therefore losing those meals that they would get through their cafeteria.

Stressed yet? Don’t worry, I was too. I personally don’t have enough money to stock the food shelf, and the food that I don’t end up using is virtually nonexistent, since I live on my own, rarely cook, and my dog steals half of my food on top of that (anyone know a good obedience school?). So what’s a single gal with limited resources to do? Plan an awesome summertime fundraiser, of course! Now, brace yourself for what’s likely to be the best news you’ve heard all summer: You can come too!  I’ll imagine that everyone reading this just let out a giant “Woooo!!” and maybe even a fist pump. The relief! The excitement! The humanity!

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Together with a team of extraordinary ladies from the valley, I am helping to plan the first ever Parrothead Cruise to benefit Valley Outreach. The event is on July 28th, at 6:30 p.m. on The Grand Duchess, which is docked in Hudson, Wis., and owned and operated by the Afton House Inn. What exactly is a parrothead, you might ask? Don’t worry, I wondered the same thing. A Parrothead is a Jimmy Buffett Fan, but, I’ve been assured that it can also be someone who maybe knows a few words to “Margaritaville” (Mostly the parts where you yell SALT! SALT! SALT!) , and enjoys island-themed parties on the water….like me!

Passengers of the cruise will enjoy a delicious island-themed meal, live music by Bob and the Beachcombers, free chair massages provided by the lovely and talented Anna Jensen, local Massage Therapist, henna tattoos, fortune telling, free photography (for those of you who are coming in costume!). The big show-stopper is sure to be the raffle prize packages we’re putting together, which, of course, are all named after Jimmy Buffett songs! My package is called “Margaritaville”, and I’m working with local liquor stores and distributers to collect bottles of tequila, triple sec, margarita mix, salt and hopefully even a blender!  Thanks to the generous support of local businesses, we are happy to offer over $5,000 worth of raffle prizes. That’s right, instead of a silent auction, we’re going to be selling raffle tickets for $1 a piece that you can put in the mix for the item of your choice. After all, who wants to be silent on a party cruise?

Tickets or “boarding passes” for the cruise are available for $50 at Valley Outreach, which is located at 1911 Curve Crest Blvd. West in Stillwater, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (closed Tuesdays, call 651-430-2739 for specific hours or information). 

You can also buy tickets at Liquor Time, which is located next to Carbone’s in Stillwater, and is also an excellent local business that supports Valley Outreach and contributed to my Margaritaviille package!  So stop in to talk to Rob or Lee about making the perfect margarita, and pick up some tickets! They’re selling fast, so if you’re looking for the perfect way to help the food shelf and your neighbors, act now!  Feel free to message me or leave a comment for more information, or e-mail me at Katie.Anastasi@googlemail.com.

See you on the water, bring your Hawaiian shirts!

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