Jen Guertin of AFSCME St. Paul Clerical Local 2508 loads food donations bound for Neighbors Inc. (AFSCME Council 5 photo)
AFSCME members helped restock a Dakota County food shelf during Council 5’s annual convention in Bloomington Sept. 11-13, raising $11,271 and collecting 539 pounds of groceries for Neighbors Inc.
The food shelf assists more than 600 families each month in Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul and West St. Paul.
Food shelf director John Kemp said AFSCME members’ donations are timely, as they will help union members who are out of work after the Rainbow Foods sell-off and the Dakota Premium meatpacking plant closure. Kemp said the food shelf is serving 25 percent more people than it did a year ago.
The collection surpassed the amount donated to a local food shelf in Duluth – two tons of food and $2,000 – during Council 5’s convention last year, organizers said.
AFSCME Council 5 is a union of 43,000 workers who advocate for excellence in public services, dignity in the workplace, and opportunity and prosperity for all working families.
Union Advocate 