‘Miles of Cars’ Lined Up to Donate Food in Minneapolis for Students Who Had None

A Minneapolis middle school in the middle of a “food desert,” because of riots that began following the death of George Floyd, asked people to donate food for students and received an overwhelming response from people who wanted to help.

“The area has become a food desert for these families, many of whom don’t own a vehicle to drive elsewhere,” Amy Nelson, the principal of Sanford Middle School, told the Washington Post.

Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling. This is the turnout for a call for 80 bags of food for families who live near the 3rd Police Precinct who lost their convenient stores in the riots this week in South Minneapolis.

All donations, all volunteers. #wcco pic.twitter.com/1PzGXk1OQS

— Marielle Mohs (@MarielleMohs) May 31, 2020

Due to the riots, public transportation and school food services were suspended throughout the city, affecting the middle school’s 970 students. Sixty percent of them were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, so Nelson thought she would do something about it.

She and her staff emailed friends and other community members, requesting that they bring 85 food kits to the school on Sunday. The kits included staples such as cereal, bread, and apples, as well as detergent, diapers, and other essential goods.

The kits would be handed out to anyone who requested one.

Word of the food drive went viral, and made the local news, causing hundreds of people to show up to help.

“The donations just kept coming, and coming, and coming,” Nelson said.

By 8:30 a.m. that morning, a line of cars was waiting to drop off food. By the end of the day, about 30,000 food kits were delivered, and more than 500 families were able to stock their pantries and refrigerators.

WCCO reported that the response has been so overwhelming that Sanford Middle School is now asking people to send their donations to Hiawatha Collegiate High School, U.S. Bank’s food drive, and Sanctuary Covenant Church.