June 8, 2020 • 7 mins
The questions a lot of people are asking during these weeks of unrest are: What can I do? And can one person really make a difference? The answer is a resounding yes. Today we learn about Sanford Middle School in Minneapolis and how a simple email calling for food donations led to a surprising result. We hear from Sanford Middle School Principal Amy Nelson and Rob Williams, the Executive Director of The Sheridan Story, an organization dedicated to fighting child hunger.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's something good
(00:27):
for today. For many people, the essential question during these
weeks of turmoil has been what can I do? Can
one person really make a difference? As we'll learn today,
the answer is a resounding yes. In Minneapolis, a middle
school principal put out a request for meals to help
feed hungry students after local food stores were looted or
(00:48):
closed due to rioting. Today we'll hear from principal Amy
Nelson and Rob Williams from the nonprofit she partnered with.
We'll learn why so many individuals responded to her call
and how acts like these are bringing hope to the conversation.
But first, let me tell you a little bit more
about what happened in Minneapolis. At the Sanford Middle School,
(01:09):
the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. When
the coronavirus shut down schools, those students were already at
risk of hunger. After George Floyd's killing, things got a
lot worse for nearby residents. Looting and arson forced grocery
stores to close, and many residents were stuck without cars
or public transportation. A parent had reached out to the staff,
(01:33):
asking the school to put a word out to the
neighborhood for food donations, as well as things like diapers
and detergent. They had also reached out to a local nonprofit,
The Sheridan Story, an organization dedicated to fighting child hunger.
The goal was ambitious to gather eighty five food kits
and distribute them all within the same day. Instead, tens
(01:54):
of thousands of people answered her call, and the school
wound up with nearly thirty thousand al kits in just
one day. Miles of cars lined up to drop off supplies,
and the school's loading dock was full of food. We
spoke to Principle Nelson about how this all came together.
Here's what she had to say. So, one of the
(02:14):
reasons that we were most interested in trying to provide
food and supplies in sort of a really quick turnaround
was that literally the three grocery stores in the area
were all looted and destroyed every convenient store, every small
little corner shop, any place that somebody might have historically
gone to buy groceries and daper eminent products and shampoo
(02:35):
and laundry insurgent, all of them had been wiped out.
So we were really sort of centered in the middle
of a food desert for a lot of our families.
We wanted to make sure that we were able to
get supplies and food into the hands of families who
were right there. And when I showed up at eight
o'clock in the morning that morning my loading dock, the
school was already full of groceries. I well, this is good.
(02:57):
And the cars just started coming and they just kept
me and we filled every block, every city block, in
lots of directions. People waited over an hour to get
just to drive up and drop their food off, and
we just we filled the entire pressing lot, and then
all the graphs around the school, and then we literally
filled every square inch of geography that we had available,
(03:18):
so much in fact, that we ended up sending a
truck down to a park three blocks down us and
we just started rerouting traffic that way because we just
ran out of physical space to stack up bags of
groceries and supplies. It was an overwhelming sense of just
sheer awe and the people coming together to get things
in the hands of of folks and needs. So we
(03:40):
reached out to the Shared and Story kind of in
a panic on Friday night because we we had in
middle school and they do food and so um I
was nervous that we were gonna end up with a
lot of food and not be able to get it
in the hands of people immediately in that moment. So
the Shared In Story this is what they do, this
is there, They're gig and so they worked to help
(04:01):
support feeding kids in family Chapla city all year long
and during the school years. So we were grateful that
they were able to partner with us and shut up
other trucks than their gear and their crew, and we're
just wonderful to work with. We also had the chance
to speak with Rob Williams of The Sheridan Story to
learn more about this incredible community effort. Here's what Rob
had to say. Sharton Story is a network of community
(04:24):
partners based here in Minnesota that focuses on food gaps
when kids don't have access to meal programs often available
at school or other other government funded program. There was
just thousands of people bringing food. We ended up collecting
eight teen semi truck loads worth of food in about
seven hours. Picture you know, brown grocery bags, paper bags
(04:49):
lined up and the end filling the whole field like
the size of a football field and just completely full
of food bags. You know, when you think about what
you want your community to be and how you wanted
to respond, and in a time where a lot of
the community isn't just diere need there are no grocery
(05:09):
stories left, there is no access to food or diapers
or toiletry items. You know, that's what you want, is
that response thousands of people bringing tons and tons and
tons of food and diapers and everything and then turning
it around and having people come to pick it up
that need it. I encourage you to look around and
see who's helping in helping somehow, whether it's in in
(05:32):
response to this unrest or the pandemic or other things
that have been going on. Find those people and join them.
You don't necessarily need to come up with your own thing.
I know it can be confusing or overwhelming to try
and figure out how to help find something you're passionate about,
find people that are doing something to help in that
area and join. It's so incredibly inspiring to hear how
(05:54):
communities are coming together to take care of one another. Everyday.
People organize by schools and charities committed to making a difference.
So here's something good for today. We can all learn
from the Sanford Middle School and realize that even the
smallest acts of kindness can have huge impact. And what
began is a small call for meal kits became an
(06:17):
overwhelming show of solidarity, love and community support. So let's
each seek out opportunities within our own communities to help
one another in these very difficult times, and as we've seen,
the results can be extraordinary. Now, the Sanford Middle School
is closed for the summer, so if you want to
support the South Minneapolis community, reach out to the Sheridan
(06:39):
Story at the Sheridan Story dot org. Have a great day,
Thank you for listening, and please share todays something good
with others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co
(07:01):
author of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women.
To learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women
dot com or download the Seneca Women app free in
the app store Cares. Something Good is a production of
the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I heart Radio Have
a Great Day. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
(07:25):
check out the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's something good
(00:27):
for today. For many people, the essential question during these
weeks of turmoil has been what can I do? Can
one person really make a difference? As we'll learn today,
the answer is a resounding yes. In Minneapolis, a middle
school principal put out a request for meals to help
feed hungry students after local food stores were looted or
(00:48):
closed due to rioting. Today we'll hear from principal Amy
Nelson and Rob Williams from the nonprofit she partnered with.
We'll learn why so many individuals responded to her call
and how acts like these are bringing hope to the conversation.
But first, let me tell you a little bit more
about what happened in Minneapolis. At the Sanford Middle School,
(01:09):
the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. When
the coronavirus shut down schools, those students were already at
risk of hunger. After George Floyd's killing, things got a
lot worse for nearby residents. Looting and arson forced grocery
stores to close, and many residents were stuck without cars
or public transportation. A parent had reached out to the staff,
(01:33):
asking the school to put a word out to the
neighborhood for food donations, as well as things like diapers
and detergent. They had also reached out to a local nonprofit,
The Sheridan Story, an organization dedicated to fighting child hunger.
The goal was ambitious to gather eighty five food kits
and distribute them all within the same day. Instead, tens
(01:54):
of thousands of people answered her call, and the school
wound up with nearly thirty thousand al kits in just
one day. Miles of cars lined up to drop off supplies,
and the school's loading dock was full of food. We
spoke to Principle Nelson about how this all came together.
Here's what she had to say. So, one of the
(02:14):
reasons that we were most interested in trying to provide
food and supplies in sort of a really quick turnaround
was that literally the three grocery stores in the area
were all looted and destroyed every convenient store, every small
little corner shop, any place that somebody might have historically
gone to buy groceries and daper eminent products and shampoo
(02:35):
and laundry insurgent, all of them had been wiped out.
So we were really sort of centered in the middle
of a food desert for a lot of our families.
We wanted to make sure that we were able to
get supplies and food into the hands of families who
were right there. And when I showed up at eight
o'clock in the morning that morning my loading dock, the
school was already full of groceries. I well, this is good.
(02:57):
And the cars just started coming and they just kept
me and we filled every block, every city block, in
lots of directions. People waited over an hour to get
just to drive up and drop their food off, and
we just we filled the entire pressing lot, and then
all the graphs around the school, and then we literally
filled every square inch of geography that we had available,
(03:18):
so much in fact, that we ended up sending a
truck down to a park three blocks down us and
we just started rerouting traffic that way because we just
ran out of physical space to stack up bags of
groceries and supplies. It was an overwhelming sense of just
sheer awe and the people coming together to get things
in the hands of of folks and needs. So we
(03:40):
reached out to the Shared and Story kind of in
a panic on Friday night because we we had in
middle school and they do food and so um I
was nervous that we were gonna end up with a
lot of food and not be able to get it
in the hands of people immediately in that moment. So
the Shared In Story this is what they do, this
is there, They're gig and so they worked to help
(04:01):
support feeding kids in family Chapla city all year long
and during the school years. So we were grateful that
they were able to partner with us and shut up
other trucks than their gear and their crew, and we're
just wonderful to work with. We also had the chance
to speak with Rob Williams of The Sheridan Story to
learn more about this incredible community effort. Here's what Rob
had to say. Sharton Story is a network of community
(04:24):
partners based here in Minnesota that focuses on food gaps
when kids don't have access to meal programs often available
at school or other other government funded program. There was
just thousands of people bringing food. We ended up collecting
eight teen semi truck loads worth of food in about
seven hours. Picture you know, brown grocery bags, paper bags
(04:49):
lined up and the end filling the whole field like
the size of a football field and just completely full
of food bags. You know, when you think about what
you want your community to be and how you wanted
to respond, and in a time where a lot of
the community isn't just diere need there are no grocery
(05:09):
stories left, there is no access to food or diapers
or toiletry items. You know, that's what you want, is
that response thousands of people bringing tons and tons and
tons of food and diapers and everything and then turning
it around and having people come to pick it up
that need it. I encourage you to look around and
see who's helping in helping somehow, whether it's in in
(05:32):
response to this unrest or the pandemic or other things
that have been going on. Find those people and join them.
You don't necessarily need to come up with your own thing.
I know it can be confusing or overwhelming to try
and figure out how to help find something you're passionate about,
find people that are doing something to help in that
area and join. It's so incredibly inspiring to hear how
(05:54):
communities are coming together to take care of one another. Everyday.
People organize by schools and charities committed to making a difference.
So here's something good for today. We can all learn
from the Sanford Middle School and realize that even the
smallest acts of kindness can have huge impact. And what
began is a small call for meal kits became an
(06:17):
overwhelming show of solidarity, love and community support. So let's
each seek out opportunities within our own communities to help
one another in these very difficult times, and as we've seen,
the results can be extraordinary. Now, the Sanford Middle School
is closed for the summer, so if you want to
support the South Minneapolis community, reach out to the Sheridan
(06:39):
Story at the Sheridan Story dot org. Have a great day,
Thank you for listening, and please share todays something good
with others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co
(07:01):
author of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women.
To learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women
dot com or download the Seneca Women app free in
the app store Cares. Something Good is a production of
the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I heart Radio Have
a Great Day. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
(07:25):
check out the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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