Posted: 12/14/05
Food for Helping Hand arrives in a big way
Christmas came early for the staff at the Community Helping Hand food shelf last week. There was no Santa Claus sleigh but a big semi-truck carrying more than 12,000 pounds of food stuffs delivered the presents.
The early Christmas gift came courtesy of Rainbow Foods in Forest Lake and its parent company, Roundyís Supermarkets, Inc. and its Roundyís Foundation charitable division.
Rose Branville, director of Community Helping Hand, and volunteers and board members were at the Forest Lake Rainbow on Dec. 7 to receive the goods from Mark Beaty, president and general manager of Rainbow Foods, and Connie Jones, administrator of Roundyís Foundation.
ěWe are really pleased to be able to you guys,î Beaty said the Community Helping Hand delegation last week. ěWe are very happy to partner with your group.î
Earlier in the day, a Roundyís truck arrived in Forest Lake carrying some 12,500 pounds of food stuffs. The food is being stored in a facility donated by John Morley of Morley Mini Storage, Forest Lake.
Beaty first delivered the good news at a 1 p.m. ceremony at the Rainbow Foods in Forest Lake.
The Roundyís Foundation truck showed up with more than 12,000 pounds of food for the Helping Hand emergency food bank operation.
The non-profit Forest Lake agency helps families and individuals in the Forest Lake community with emergency needs and has been serving the area for nearly 30 years.
The second donation ceremony on Dec. 7 took place at the Rainbow Foods in Shoreview. The Roundyís Foundation truck showed up there with more than 14,000 pounds of food for Second Harvest Heartland. Second Harvest Heartland is the regionís largest hunger relief organization.
ěRoundyís Supermarkets, Inc. and Rainbow Foods thrive because of the support of the communities our stores serve,î said Robert Mariano, chairman and chief executive officer of Roundyís and president of the Roundyís Foundation in a press release.
ěThat is why giving back to those communities is a top priority. We do that through the Roundyís Foundation by helping organizations that share our mission of providing hunger relief, helping families in crisis and advancing literacy.î
For Branville and the Helping Hand staff, the donation last week will provide important food stuffs to augment the ongoing humanitarian efforts of the agency.
Community Helping Hand is located at 408 SW 15th St. in Forest Lake.
About Roundyís
Roundyís Supermarkets, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company with nearly $4 billion in sales and 21,000 employees.
It operates 135 retail grocery stores under the Pick ën Save, Copps and Rainbow Foods banners in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. It was founded in Milwaukee in 1872 as a wholesale company.
For more information about Roundyís, visit the company website at www.roundys.com.
Foundation facts
Chartered in August 2003, the Roundyís Foundation was created to further strengthen the commitment Roundyís Supermarkets, Inc. has to the communities in which it serves.
Roundyís Pick ën Save and Copps stores are found throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
Rainbow Foods stores serve our customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The Roundyís Foundation is dedicated to hunger relief, families in crisis and literacy, and since its inception has given more than $800,000 to organizations focused on community service in those areas of need.
Major grant recipients include food banks, women and family violence shelters and literacy programs throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605