Salvation Army hosts Twin Cities drive-through food drives Friday and Saturday to collect donations

The monthlong event aims to collect 2 million pounds of nonperishable items to restock its seven food pantries until summer.

March 4, 2021 at 7:28PM
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Volunteer Becky Geyer, of Edina, filled boxes of food as she volunteered with her mother Diane Haider, of Lake Elmo, left, at the Twin Cities Salvation Army food pantry in St. Paul. (Renee Jones Schneider - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Salvation Army is holding six pop-up drive-through events Friday and Saturday for metro residents to drop off donations for the nonprofit's largest-ever food drive.

The monthlong event aims to collect 2 million pounds of nonperishable items to restock its seven food pantries until summer to meet the growing demand for help.

From 2 to 6 p.m. on Friday, food donations may be dropped off at Cub stores at 7191 N. 10th St., Oakdale; 12595 NE. Central Av., Blaine; and 20250 Heritage Drive, Lake­ville.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, drive-through collection will be available at Cub stores at 1801 Market Dr., Stillwater; 8150 N. Wedgewood Lane, Maple Grove; and 1940 Cliff Lake Road, Eagan.

The Salvation Army is also collecting food at more than 100 locations through March 27 and at a drive-through collection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 27 at its Roseville headquarters, 2445 N. Prior Av. For more details, go to 2MillionPounds.org.

Food shelves across the metro have seen an increase in visitors during the pandemic. The Salvation Army's Twin Cities food pantries have seen a 140% increase in visitors, and 40% of visitors in 2020 were seeking help for the first time.

The Star Tribune is a sponsor of the drive-through events.

KELLY SMITH

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(Renee Jones Schneider - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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Becky Geyer of Edina filled boxes with food as she volunteered with her mother, Diane Haider of Lake Elmo, left, last Friday. (Renee Jones Schneider - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Kelly Smith

News team leader

Kelly Smith is a news editor, supervising a team of reporters covering Minnesota social services, transportation issues and higher education. She previously worked as a news reporter for 16 years.

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