By Jolene Farley
The goal of the Rock County Emergency Food Shelf is to ensure no one in Rock County goes hungry. Dorothy Dorn, Luverne, and several other volunteers have done their best to further this goal.
Dorn first volunteered at the Food Shelf in 1984. She is now the volunteer coordinator who schedules the volunteers needed to keep the Food Shelf running smoothly.
The Rock County Emergency Food Shelf has been in operation since 1983, when it was started by the Rock County Ministerial Association in response to economic hardships in the rural economy.
It is currently operated out of the basement of United Methodist Church, Luverne. It depends on churches, civic organizations, local businesses, social service agencies and concerned individuals for donations of food and money.
People hear about the Food Shelf through their churches, social service organizations or through family and friends. In an emergency situation, every Rock County resident is eligible for help from the Food Shelf.
Visitors are asked to fill out a confidential questionnaire with the recipient’s name, address, age and names of those in the household. The person then selects food based on personal preference and the size of the family served.
Recipients are asked to not visit the Food Shelf more than once a month. A two- to three-day supply of food is given at each visit.
The Food Shelf served 307 Rock County families from January to November of this year, an average of 28 families per month. The 1,023 individuals (some duplicates) received 16,638 items from the Food Shelf.
The Food Shelf is supported mostly by donations. Area churches choose a month to support the project. Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Hills, is responsible for the month of December this year.
August, September and October are slow donation months at the Food Shelf. Dorn said people tend to give more around Christmas. So except for a few items, the Food Shelf is currently well stocked.
Donations of canned meat are needed. Meat cannot be fresh or home-canned. Spam, canned chicken and canned ham are good choices.
Just being able to help people when they need it is the most rewarding part of her job, according to Dorn.
"I would like to thank everyone for donating to the Food Shelf, for helping their neighbors," said Dorn. "Rock County residents are very, very generous in their giving."
The Rock County Food Shelf is open every Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. in the basement of United Methodist Church.