Funviralpark PEQUOT LAKES — Just three days before Christmas, an exciting gift arrived at the Lakes Area Food Shelf in Pequot Lakes.
Nisswa’s Zahn Energy Group had notified the pantry the day before December 21 that it would be coming the next day with the results of the food and clothing drive it held to benefit LAFS. 40 pounds of food and about 24 bags of clothing.
“This is unbelievable,” said LAFS director Cathy Adams in disbelief. “It’s incredible,” she said.
Jesse Zahn, a Nisswa City Council member and vice president of Conductor Power, one of the Zahn Energy Group companies, said in an email he and his family sent to more than 200 employees about the drive in November. I emailed a copy to the pantry.
Zahn told employees that although the activity is voluntary, it is a great opportunity to give back to the community, and the company either matches the donation in cash or checks donations for every dollar. rice field.
“We have been very impressed with the generous donations from our employees,” said Beth Zahn, CEO of the family business.
In the summer of 2022, Jesse Zahn visited LAFS with a donation of $25,000 from the City of Nisswa. During that visit, Adams took him through the pantry and talked to him about the growing need and the financial challenges he faced.
We know what it needs and what it needs now, and it’s even bigger than it used to be. This is a small step and I hope others will follow suit.
Jesse Zahn
“(I told him) this is really great. I thanked him and then I said, ‘Maybe we can talk about other (needs).'” Adams said, “And he looked at me and said, ‘I’ll be back.’ And this is what they did.”
Adams was concerned that she had stepped over asking for more, even after making a large donation, but Zahn never saw it that way.
“What we need and what we need now is even greater than before,” says Zahn. “This is a small step. I hope others will follow suit. I know they did. We are here to do our part.”
This year’s needs are greater than LAFS has ever experienced. In 2021, the food shelf served her 4,657 people. As of November 30, 2022, it served over 10,000 people.
Since last year, the cost of buying food has increased by 65%, with new families arriving on the pantry every week.
Not only that, but recent winter storms have brought additional challenges such as power outages and delayed deliveries.
“We get emotional,” Adams said as Zahns and his employees carried food boxes and clothing bags to the storeroom. “But they really are our friends and neighbors. Beautiful, beautiful people.”
Zahn said the names of the attendees (friends and neighbors) at the Lakes Area Food Shelf are just right.
“When[Adams]says she’s a neighbor’s friend, she takes it home. They really are. They live in our backyard. They’re in us.” said Zahn. “No one should judge a book by its cover. We all struggle sometimes, but we’re here to help.”
Echo Journal reporter Megan Buffington can be reached at [email protected]. She graduated from Lakes High School in Pequot in 2021 and is attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
