Community Emergency Service

Instead of going to waste, this bread is headed to a neighbor's dinner table. 🍞

Did you know more than 60% of the food we distribute at CES is rescued? Grocery partners like Lunds & Byerlys share items that are near their sell-by date but still fresh and good, and our neighbors take home high-quality bread, produce, meat and more.

Less food wasted. More food on the table for our neighbors!

Thank you, Lunds & Byerlys, for being a Hunger Hero! 💚

💼 It’s Workplace Giving Season!

Fall is when many companies host their annual employee giving and United Way campaigns. Did you know your workplace may offer ways to support CES beyond making a personal donation?

Your employer may offer:

✔️ Matching gifts that can multiply your donation
✔️ Employee giving through workplace or United Way campaigns
✔️ Volunteer grants that turn your volunteer hours into a donation to CES
✔️ Food drives or other opportunities to rally your coworkers around hunger relief
✔️ Group volunteer experiences at CES

Whether you’re a CES volunteer, donor, or simply someone who cares about our neighbors, check with your HR or community engagement team to see what your workplace offers.

Your time, generosity, and workplace connections can help us provide nourishing food and stabilizing support to our neighbors most in need. 💛

🌟 VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: DAN & JUDIE 🌟

Meet Dan and Judie - volunteers in the CES Food Market every Thursday. We’re so grateful for the care and commitment they bring to CES.

And yes, that’s our staff member Antuan in the photo with them. We promise he likes Dan and Judie. He’s just not the biggest fan of pictures! 😂

Judie, a retired pastor, first came to CES because she knew of our work through churches she had served. She says she tries to see Jesus in everyone who comes through our doors.

One recent experience reminded her just how many kinds of care happen at CES. A regular neighbor arrived after tripping over a curb and cutting his face when his glasses broke. Fortunately, another CES volunteer happened to be a retired doctor and was able to clean and bandage his wound and help him understand when he might need additional care.

As Judie put it, “God can meet many needs through the people who volunteer — food, a listening ear, maybe a few household items, and sometimes a healing touch!”

Dan began volunteering three years ago after Judie encouraged him to put his Spanish to work where it was needed. For Dan, volunteering is a spiritual discipline; something that isn’t always easy at first but becomes deeply rewarding with practice.

“Taking that first step is hard,” Dan says. “The first visits may stretch you, but the enjoyment will come with the habit of volunteering.” At CES we love this sentiment because, it's true, volunteering isn't always easy, but it is always rewarding.

For both Dan and Judie, volunteering is about meeting people who are different from them, listening to their stories, learning from one another, and doing a small, good thing.

We’re so grateful they keep showing up every Thursday and we hope their story inspires a few more people to take that first step, too. ❤️

The countdown is on! Our annual Hunger to Hope Breakfast is just two weeks away & seats are filling up fast.

Join us for a morning of powerful stories, good food, and a shared vision for turning hunger into hope.

Don't wait, secure your spot today and be part of an incredible morning! 💛

Reserve your spot: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/hungertohoperegistration/event/h2hb/

When our neighbors’ needs change, CES responds.

Last year, CES doubled our 24/7 Food Locker capacity by adding a second bank of climate-controlled lockers, creating more flexible access to healthy food for our neighbors.

That’s what it means to meet our neighbors where they are - listening, adapting, innovating.

Read CES's FY26 Annual Impact Report to learn more:https://cesmn.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/CES-ImpactReport_2026_Web.pdf

🐾 HUNGER HEROES: PET EDITION! 🐾

A huge tail wag and heartfelt thank you to our friends at Dogtopia for hosting a pet food and supply drive for CES’s Ani-Meals program! Dogtopia's generous community donated 174 pounds of high-quality dog food, cat food and two cat window shelves that our feline friends are going to LOVE. 🐶🐱

And the generosity didn’t stop at the basics. Some of the specialty items donated will be especially helpful for Ani-Meals pets with specific dietary needs, including dogs like Dobie, who will receive some of these goodies at our upcoming distribution.

We have always believed that pet owners are naturally generous people and Dogtopia’s customers proved us right!

Thank you for helping make sure our neighbors’ pets have the food, supplies, and care they need to stay healthy and happy — because a full food bowl is a good thing, whether you have two legs or four. ❤️🐾

Mission Moment ❤️

For our Meals on Wheels volunteers, delivering a meal is about so much more than dropping food at the door. It’s a chance to see a neighbor, make a connection, and notice when something doesn’t seem right.

Recently, one of our volunteers arrived for a regular meal delivery and found a 95-year-old client in significant distress. After a weekend of temperatures exceeding 90 degrees with high humidity, she was without air conditioning and had not received the care and support she needed when her weekend PCA staff did not show up.

The volunteer stayed with her, offered comfort, and called 911. She remained by her side until medics arrived to assess the situation and provided the care she needed.

The volunteer also made sure the CES Meals on Wheels staff knew what had happened so we could follow up and connect the client with additional support.

This is why our Meals on Wheels volunteers matter so much. A familiar face at the door can be a source of connection, a wellness check, and sometimes the person who recognizes that a neighbor needs help.

A meal can nourish. A visit can reassure. And sometimes, that connection can make all the difference. ❤️

Thank you to the volunteers who show up for our senior neighbors every day and care for them as people, not just as meal recipients.

✨ Meet Ashley! ✨

We’re excited to introduce you to Ashley, a senior at nearby Cristo Rey Jesuit High School - Twin Cities. Ashley spends every Tuesday at CES through her school’s Work Study Program.

Ashley has quickly become part of the CES community, helping at our front desk and with food locker orders. She’s especially excited to learn more about CES and the many ways we help our neighbors.

“I really like how CES helps me work on knowing what it means to truly help others," Ashley shared.

During her time at CES, she’s also hoping to strengthen skills like analytical and strategic thinking, staying focused on one task at a time, and putting the skills she’s learned in school into practice.

And as Ashley looks ahead to graduation, she’s thinking about what comes next: finding the career she’s passionate about and choosing a college that will give her the opportunities to pursue it.

We’re so glad Ashley is part of the team and can’t wait to see all that she accomplishes at CES and beyond! 💙

For our senior neighbors, a meal can mean so much more.

In FY26, 532 older adults received daily meals and visits through CES Meals on Wheels, helping them access nutritious food while remaining independent in their homes.

For many of our homebound senior neighbors, that familiar face at the door also provides connection, a wellness check, and a vital link to their community. ❤️

Read more about the people and impact behind these numbers in our FY26 Annual Impact Report:https://cesmn.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/CES-ImpactReport_2026_Web.pdf

When the produce stack is taller than our staff! 😊🥕🍎🥬🙌

It’s harvest season in Minnesota and the abundance is showing up in our cooler! These boxes are packed with fresh produce and ready to be put on the shelves for our neighbors to bring home.

We’re grateful for the farmers, grocers, and volunteers who help make this abundance possible. Together, we’re making sure our neighbors can share in the goodness of the local harvest.