(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless.)

At a time when individuals and households throughout Minnesota are experiencing hardships in numbers never seen before, Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless (OYH) Foundation is working hard to ensure their funding reaches those in need in every corner of the state.

In their most recent spring funding cycle, Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has granted CAER Food Shelf with $7,000 to increase their food storage capacity and program operations.

CAER Food Shelf’s mission is to fight hunger in the local communities it serves – Elk River, Otsego, and Zimmerman. Funding from Open Your Heart will provide CAER Food Shelf with a two-door reach-in, standalone freezer for the Kids Weekend CAER Package program. The new freezer will support CAER Food Shelf in providing weekly, weekend food assistance to families with school-age children.

Since 1986, the Open Your Heart Foundation has ensured that emergency shelters, food shelves and domestic violence shelters throughout Minnesota have the tools, equipment and infrastructure necessary to best serve those in need.

Open Your Heart awards funds every three months and provides emergency support within days during a crisis. They support programs in communities where many traditional funders do not reach – food shelves, domestic violence shelters, and homeless programs in small communities and sparsely served remote corners of the state. Through this direct support, Open Your Heart helps these organizations provide safe and dignified environments for people across Minnesota.

For more information about Open Your Heart, grantees or the grant application process visit www.oyh.org. To learn more about CAER Food Shelf, visit www.CAERFoodShelf.org.