GATHER AND GROW IS COMMITTED TO SERVING
Gather and Grow Waconia Food Shelf is committed to serving our families in a pleasant, dignified environment. We make an effort to provide a variety of foods from which our families can choose, to promote healthy eating. While our main mission is providing food, we also provide information on a variety of resources available in our state and county that might be helpful to those we serve.
Mission
Our heartfelt mission is to provide fresh food, high-quality groceries and supportive services to our great community
Vision
We envision a community where everyone has access to sufficient nutritious food and connection to every available resource.
Values
- We value the dignity of every person we have the honor of serving.
- We value empowering people so they thrive.
- We value our diverse volunteers and their commitment to the community.
- We value addressing the root causes of hunger and advocating for social justice and the common good.
- We value best practices in order to continuously improve our services to our clients and communities.
- We value wise stewardship of the resources entrusted to us.
LEADERSHIP
Angie Cruzen
Executive Director
Email Angie
Ashley Urbaniak
Operations Coordinator
Email Ashley
FOOD SHELF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2023-24 Board Officers and Members
Jessica Miller, President – Health Economics Researcher at
Michelle Bachmann, Vice President – Atlassian Administrator at GSTV
Jayme Miller, Co-Treasurer – Partner at Drazan, Henke and Associates PLLC
Pat Schaffran, Co-Treasurer – Treasurer & Consultant at Schaffran Consulting
Suzanne McCarty, Secretary – Retired sales executive
Brittany Rihanek – Senior Manager, Content Marketing at The Opus Group
Sarah Urtel– Vice President & Compliance Officer at RIdgeview
Brenda Grams – Retired educator and community volunteer
Bobbi Grohmann – Senior Manager Brand Development -Shopper Marketing at Catalina USA
Kristina Foudray – Attorney at Seager, Tufte, & Wickhem
Pete Leo – Council Member – City of Waconia
Bill Ryan – Assistant Vice President, Human Resources at Allianz Life Insurance Company
Heather Reichenberger-Fabish – Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX Results
Tessa Juliar – Real Estate Agent at Edina Realty
FOOD SHELF HISTORY
The Waconia Food Shelf came into being after a local businesswoman saw the need and began distributing food from her business location. However, it soon became apparent that the demand was more than she could meet personally.
Local churches helped locate a place and resources to set up a local food shelf. After securing the space by renting from St. Joseph’s Church with financial help from the churches for rent, the new organization obtained shelves and a freezer as a donation from Mackenthun’s. Many people pulled together to ready the space and train volunteers. The Food Shelf opened in July of 2003.
The Waconia Food Shelf is operated by over 100 volunteers, including board members, volunteer coordinators, site workers, and delivery persons. Currently, we assist clients living in the communities of Waconia, New Germany, Victoria, Cologne, and St. Bonifacius.
The Food Shelf would not be possible without the generosity of businesses, churches, schools, civic and sports organizations, and many personal contributions of food and money for which we are very appreciative.