The Sheridan Story

Minneapolis, MN – The Sheridan Story and the YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, are partnering to provide free, nourishing food to families in the community to ensure youth have food during unprecedented pandemic.

Over 10,000 food bags containing nearly 40,000 meals are being provided by The Sheridan Story and are available at 26 YMCA locations in the Twin Cities, Hudson and Rochester. Beginning March 25, families can stop by the front doors at designated Y sites and pick up a free bag of food. YMCA membership is not required. Supplies are limited. Please practice social distancing when picking up food.

“We have swiftly shifted to a model that can rapidly respond to the drastically larger food gap caused by statewide school closures, and the YMCA is a key partner making it possible to serve children and families,” said Rob Williams, executive director of The Sheridan Story.

“We are grateful to partner with The Sheridan Story to ensure all of our families in our community have access to food during this very difficult time and no child goes hungry,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of the YMCA of the North.

For more information on the YMCA food distribution locations, go to www.ymcamn.org/food-distribution.

For those who may not have easy access to a Y, The Sheridan Story has been working closely with over 31 districts in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin to provide food at their designated food distribution points for their students. For families needing food, they should contact the school district in which they live to find out what nutrition resources are available during this time. Most school districts will not require enrollment of a child in the district in order to receive assistance; help is available to all children who reside within a district’s boundaries.

For more information on how to support YMCA community response programs and services, visit www.ymcamn.org/give. For information on how to support The Sheridan Story, go to www.thesheridanstory.org.

WHO: The YMCA of the North and The Sheridan Story

WHAT:  To ensure youth and their families have nutritious food during the coronavirus crisis, the community can get a free bag of food while supplies last.

WHERE: Front doorways of YMCA of the North locations, including Rochester and Hudson, WI. See www.ymcamn.org/food-distribution for a full list of locations. 

WHEN: Beginning Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

About the YMCA of the North

The YMCA of the North is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Established 164 years ago, the Ys provide life-strengthening services across the greater Twin Cities metro region, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin communities.  The 29 Y locations and program sites, eight overnight camps, 10 day camps, and more than 90 child care sites engage more than 370,000 men, women and children of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. To learn more about the Y’s mission and work, visit www.ymcamn.org.

About The Sheridan Story

Over 200,000 children in Minnesota live in food insecurity – they don’t always know if they’ll have food for their next meal. In order to fight this devastating reality, The Sheridan Story focuses on the food gaps, the times throughout the year when children aren’t able to receive free and reduced meal programs at school. In the last six years, The Sheridan Story has grown from serving one school with a weekend food program to implementing multiple food gap programs serving over 10,000 children across 300 locations. To learn more visit www.thesheridanstory.org.