Welcome to Agency Zone
This website is your agency’s portal to Second Harvest Heartland. We are so proud to support you in your work in ending hunger. By bringing local communities and neighborhoods together to increase food security in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout Central and Southwestern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin you accomplish great things. Your dedicated staffs and volunteers are the life-blood of the hunger relief network. Second Harvest could not accomplish its mission to end hunger without your partnership and hard work.
Working together toward a shared mission
Food shelves and other agency partners bring local communities and neighborhoods together to increase food security in urban, suburban and rural areas within a 59-county service area. Agency partners and their dedicated staffs and volunteers are the life-blood of the hunger relief network. Second Harvest could not accomplish its mission to end hunger without their partnership and hard work. To learn more about the many agencies in the hunger relief network working to end hunger in their communities, see our Agency Partners List.
The direct link to people experiencing hunger
Second Harvest Heartland partners with nearly 1,000 food shelves, soup kitchens, shelters and other programs in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. These agency partners distribute food directly to their communities and into the hands of working families, children and seniors throughout a shared hunger relief network.
Second Harvest Heartland’s Role in the Network
Second Harvest Heartland plays many roles in the hunger relief network.
Nutritious Food
Our primary function is to provide food to agency partners so they can distribute needed meals directly to their communities. We source donations and purchase many varieties of foods to do our best to meet the nutritional needs of the communities we all serve. Our size and partnership with Feeding America allow us to access large quantities of foods from diverse sources and provide them to agency partners at a low cost. Second Harvest Heartland also manages the distribution of free government commodities to eligible programs.
Fundraising
Approximately 96% of donations received by Second Harvest Heartland go directly into programming and services. Much of the funds we secure are used to purchase food, maintain the delivery and Food Rescue trucks, transport incoming food and store food. The cost of food is heavily subsidized by our fundraising efforts. For example, in 2019 our cost per pound was 23 cents and agencies’ share of the cost was less than 2 cents per pound ($.0169).
Advocacy
As one of the region’s largest hunger relief organizations, we use our size and reputation to advocate at the state and national level for legislation and funding that benefits the network’s efforts to end hunger.
Capacity and Network Building
Agency partners are critical to the network because they deliver food directly to the people in their communities. It’s why our Agency Relations department works so hard to support agency partners by complimenting their strengths and local knowledge with resources, sector experience and specialized consultation. Many other departments also provide direct support to agency partners such as Transportation (everyone loves our drivers!) and Food Rescue. As conveners in the network we also connect agency partners with one another and other sector resources to provide opportunities to share, learn and teach.
Compliance
Second Harvest Heartland and partner agencies are required to adhere to requirements and laws for food safety, stewardship of donations and partnership agreement compliance. The Agency Relations department supports partners with meeting compliance requirements in all areas and visits each agency at least every two years.
A video about SHH and the incredible network of partners providing food to people experiencing hunger in their communities. This video can be used to raise awareness in your community.