“The families I come into contact with were struggling to put food on the table when the economy was good. With COVID now, things are so much harder for them. Many of the parents are not working anymore or their hours have been cut in half and their problems have multiplied. It just breaks my [...]
Traditionally, the summer months are hard on families suffering from food insecurity. Relying upon school meal programs for their children during the school year, they often struggle to feed their kids once the school year ends. Unfortunately, this summer is expected to be even harder on these families who have been hit extra hard by [...]
Food insecurity has been a growing problem for many Minnesota families in recent years but with the economic fallout from the pandemic, the crisis is now greater than ever. According to a report from 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was expected to create a hunger crisis affecting over 700,000 Minnesotans in a situation “reportedly not seen [...]
With much of the country still in the throes of winter's snow and cold, many people are dreaming about spring. At MATTER, this time of year finds us dreaming about MATTERbox Madness, our annual March packing event that brings together some of the most generous companies in the Twin Cities to provide food for hungry [...]
In recent years, more and more companies have recognized the benefits of giving back to their communities by providing employees with opportunities to volunteer. Not only does it make their brand more recognizable in the communities in which they work, but it also makes for happier employees. Regarding a recent survey on the importance of workplace volunteerism, businessnewsdaily.com noted, “The research revealed that employers that encourage and promote [...]
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” At MATTER, our goal is to go far in creating meaningful and lasting change in communities. But we know we cannot do this alone. The only way this kind of life-sustaining change is possible is through [...]
In the wake of the civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis last month, residents of the city and beyond came out in full force to help bring peace and healing to their gutted communities. Parking lots were filled with seas of grocery bags and mountains of diapers. Floods of neighbors came pouring out of homes with buckets and brooms to clean up the debris. Amidst the darkness of fear and death, [...]
“This is so good! And it was super easy. I’d definitely make this again.” Fourteen-year-old Briar is taking her second forkful of the pasta salad she just made. Filled with black beans, corn, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, red onion, cilantro, and avocado, it’s bursting with color and smells amazing. But best of all, it's tasty and healthy. Briar adds a squeeze of lime and takes another bite. “Perfect!” [...]
From the east coast to the west, our nation owes a debt of gratitude to all of our frontline workers who are selflessly serving in the midst of this pandemic, tirelessly providing care and comfort to those most impacted by COVID-19. When UCare and Health Fair 11 reached out to MATTER about partnering with them to provide healthy snacks to the frontline workers at Hennepin Healthcare and Carris Health in [...]
The date was circled in red. Thursday, April 30th, was scheduled to be our sixth annual MATTERbox Madness at the Mall of America. This energetic, high impact event features many of our corporate partners packing tens of thousands of healthy snack packs for Minnesota kids who need extra nutrition during the summer months. It’s one of our biggest days on the [...]
