HUNGER ENDS HERE (dba Harvest Pack)
Share the Harvest
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Harvest Pack recognizes that hunger is the world's #1 health risk and even poses a major problem here in the U.S. Hunger-related issues spill over into struggles with housing, safety, education, mental health, community, and all other aspects of life.
In 2015, 42.2 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 6.4 million children. It is estimated that 607 million people worldwide struggled with food insecurity.
That's why we're dedicated to partnering with local social service organizations and food shelves, in addition to our partners overseas, to ensure that our meals get distributed to those who need it most. Through these organizations, Harvest Pack's work has been able to reach far beyond our headquarters in Saint Paul.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Local meals
Established in 2012, Harvest Pack is a non-profit organization committed to putting healthy food on every table. Through the work of volunteers, we provide hand-packed, nutrient rich meals both locally and internationally.
Our local meals are directed to local food shelves, and to education programs providing weekend meals to students. From several partners who work to distribute these meals to students, we know that those enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program do better when they also bring meals home on the weekends - so we are proud to provide a fortified instant oatmeal to help support these students and their families. Several of our partners have also found our oatmeal to be very popular with Seniors served in their Meals on Wheels program.
International Meals
Most of our international meals are sent to our partners in the Philippines, International Care Ministries. There our meals are used to support families enrolled in their Transform program, which provides hope, support, training and resources to help families climb out of poverty.
Community Service
We offer short-term volunteer events, providing team-building opportunities for corporations, community groups, and civic or faith-based organizations to make a measurable impact on food insecurity in their local community. At Harvest Pack's meal packing events, a group of volunteers can package 20,000 meals in just a few hours, and each group contributes a few cents per meal to make it possible. Our events provide a fun way for individuals to make a big impact.
Where we work
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Community Service
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We gather large groups together to package dehydrated meals. In 2020 & 2021, our numbers were smaller due to Covid-19. In 2022 & 2023, we grew significantly.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Families
Related Program
Local meals
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2020, our meal packing operations were put on hold for many months due to Covid-19, and then resumed with smaller groups. In 2022 and 2023 we grew significantly.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Harvest Pack is a humanitarian hunger-relief organization working to relieve food insecurity on both local and international levels. By offering nutritious meals for those in need, we hope to eliminate hunger for all.
We recognize food insecurity exists far too frequently here in the US. By holding meal packing events in a variety of communities, we help people understand that hunger doesn't always “look" a certain way. Our neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and even family can be affected by hunger. Harvest Pack meal packing events educate and offer community engagement to make a tangible impact on hunger. Ultimately, we want healthy food on every table.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We purposely develop cross-sector relationships between business organizations, educational institutions, faith-based groups, and general community organizations to pack and distribute our meals where they are needed most. We partner with organizations of all sizes to host meal packaging events in local communities. Funds received by these event hosts cover the cost of ingredients, supply, freight, and some organizational overhead expenses. These events also help us to continue to raise awareness and involvement within communities.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
At the base of our organization, Harvest Pack's team of nonprofit veterans are passionate about helping others and making healthy meals available to all. Using research from food scientists, we've been able to develop our healthy meals, made from U.S sourced ingredients. They are filled with carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins needed for an underfed body and mind.
We have been able to build partnerships with other organizations to deliver our meals into the hands of those that need them most. In the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota region, our partnership with the Sheridan Story puts our nutritious oatmeal into the weekend meal bags of food insecure students. Working with Community Emergency Services allows our oatmeal to be delivered to home-bound seniors around the Twin Cities, and VEAP (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People) receives Harvest Pack oatmeal donations for their food shelf program.
Across the US, our meal packing hosts help identify the best local recipients. For international aid donations, Harvest Pack's partners include International Care Ministries and Children's Health Ministries. The Harvest Pack team works tirelessly to continue creating volunteer opportunities through our meal packing events.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We've had very successful meal packing events within various communities, both in and outside of Minnesota. In 2019, we packed 1,447,610 meals, and donated 1,460,034. Of those meals, 918,306 were donated locally through strong partnerships with distribution organizations like Every Meal (formerly The Sheridan Story), Community Emergency Services, and VEAP (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People).
Our meals are definitely getting to places that need them, but we know there are many other places that still need them. This is why we want to continue strengthening our relationships and developing new ones with other organizations. We look to work with more corporations and communities to increase our number of meal packing events.
Long-term goals include building a stronger community of sustaining donors that are as dedicated to our mission as we are. To accomplish this, we launched our new monthly giving program. We are also developing more impactful stories of how Harvest Pack has made a difference in the community.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
HUNGER ENDS HERE (dba Harvest Pack)
Board of directorsas of 01/25/2024
Doug Rude
Harvest Pack
Term: 2012 -
Tanya Beckwith
3M
Enrique Barrera
FirstService Residential MN
Denise Willenbring
Aon Corporation
Athanas Mcha
Lethert Skwira Schultz
Samantha Juneau
MN Dept of Transportation
Merry Grande
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Gender identity
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Transgender Identity
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Sexual orientation
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Disability
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