Saint Paul Unions’ Free Food Distribution Effort to Reach One Million Pound Milestone Saturday

The Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation and its nonprofit LSRC have taken a leading role in connecting Minnesotans with fresh food available through a new USDA program

SAINT PAUL, MINN. – With demand for emergency food assistance at an all-time high during the pandemic, local unions have stepped up this winter to connect more Minnesota families with free, fresh food available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program.

Those efforts will reach a milestone Saturday, March 20, when the total amount of food given away at labor-sponsored events surpasses 1 million pounds. Union volunteers will exceed the million-pound mark during a distribution event in Saint Paul Park, where about 200 members of Teamsters Local 120 have been locked out of their jobs at the Marathon oil refinery since Jan. 22.

What: Million-Pound Milestone Free Food Giveaway
Where: American Legion Post 98, 328 Broadway Ave., Saint Paul Park
When: Saturday, March 20, beginning at 1:30 p.m. (while supplies last, typically 3 hours)

The Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, has coordinated 26 food giveaways in Minnesota and North Dakota since October 2020. Giveaways are “contactless” and open to the public. Each event requires dozens of volunteers to unload and distribute about 1,300 packages of fresh food, each weighing about 30 pounds.

The Regional Labor Federation’s registered nonprofit organization, the Saint Paul Labor Studies and Resource Center (LSRC), accesses the USDA truckload of food and partners with local unions, labor councils and community organizations to stage distribution events. Read more about Saint Paul unions’ effort to combat hunger here.

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The Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, unites over 100 local unions representing more than 60,000 working people in Ramsey, Washington, Dakota and Chisago counties.