2023 was an amazing year of giving for INFRA. In addition to supporting hundreds of independent natural food retailers year-round, we always make it a priority to focus in on our local community. Staying rooted in our community is one of the many ways to build empathy, strengthen connections, and re-align ourselves with our mission of feeding and sustaining communities across the country. From our yearly volunteering during the “Day of Love” to our employee-led giving during Give to the Max Day, we know the importance of supporting the incredible work of local organizations doing good for their communities.
Day of Love
During our staff retreat in November, INFRA staff volunteered at two Twin Cities based non-profits working to combat food insecurity. Second Harvest Heartland is a food bank that distributes up to 123 million pounds of food to counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This food helps families in crisis find stability and access nutritious food. For their volunteering service, INFRA staff were hard at work packing, sorting, and readying food for distribution. INFRA volunteers packaged 15,372 meals – that's 302 meals packed per person!
INFRA Staff at Second Harvest Heartland
Here’s what a couple of staff members had to say about the experience:
43 staff jumped on a bus to head to Second Harvest Heartland on a warm November day. Together, we packed 387 boxes of apples and 42 boxes of rice. This totaled to be 15,454 pounds of food! We laughed and chatted as we worked, making the day fun and productive. What a treat to have time to give back to the community, all while spending quality time together.
- Hannah Rogal, People Operations Generalist
Spending hours weighing and packing rice doesn’t sound like it should be fun, but it was! Volunteering at Second Harvest Heartland was not only incredibly rewarding, but it was also a fantastic reminder of the deeper reasons I choose to work at INFRA (feeding our communities!) and a valuable opportunity to connect with co-workers in a new way.
Ruthanne Atkinson (Member Connection Manager) Troy Taylor, Member Business Advisor
and Robin Davis (Category Manager)
Urban Roots is a non-profit that provides professional and career development for majority BIPOC youth through farming, gardening, and cooking experiences. Along with developing valuable career and life experience, Urban Roots interns learn the importance of conservation, healthy eating, and caring for the earth. INFRA volunteers helped the Urban Roots staff prepare for the winter season by weeding, pulling up irrigation tubes, and reshaping the landscape with soil. It was an honor to play a part in keeping this impactful program running!
INFRA Staff at Urban Roots
Here are a couple of reflections from INFRA staff:
I truly appreciated spending our Day of Love with Urban Roots. The work they do in educating future generations on the importance of clean and sustainable farming practices is paramount to fixing our food systems. The seeds of change rest in the minds of the next generation, and organizations like Urban Roots help foster these seeds to fruit a better tomorrow.
- Nick Auzenne, Director of Purchasing
Volunteering at Urban Roots was a wonderful experience! It was impactful to see how they connect their community with natural resources and work with youth in the area to maintain and grow their garden spaces. Getting our hands dirty and seeing firsthand the work that goes into maintaining their spaces was also an illuminating challenge, and I applaud Urban Roots for the hard work they are doing for the Twin Cities area.
- Hailey Craig, Events & Education Specialist
Hailey Craig, Events & Education Specialist Matt Ryan, Retail Strategist
Give to the Max Day 2023
For the past two years, INFRA has provided staff with an employee-led giving opportunity on Minnesota’s Give to the Max Day, a day of philanthropy organized by RaiseMN. This year, we raised a significant amount for 65 local organizations – ranging from Feed my Starving Children to NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), It’s all a part of our belief in company-sponsored, employee-driven giving. See a full list of organizations here.
School Supplies Drive
Emma Norton Services is a Saint Paul based organization that provides safe, secure, and affordable housing for women and families experiencing homelessness. This year, INFRA organized a Back-to-School drive to aid Emma Norton in their mission and support the learning of local kids. In addition to staff and company donations, 24 of our vendor partners agreed to donate food to the cause!
Special thanks to our vendor partners who donated: Tasty Bites, Raos, BioNaturae, Birch Benders, Purely Elizabeth, Annie’e, The Good Crisp, Bobo’s, Bear, Santa Cruz, Partake Foods, From the Ground Up, Food Should Taste Good, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Kettle, Kind, Peace Coffee, Cliff Bars, GoMacro, Cheddies, Nick’s Sticks, Siete, Simple Mills, and Free2Be
Sustaining our Commitment
As we reflect on everything INFRA has accomplished in 2023, it is evident that our commitment to giving has left a lasting impact. This year, we prioritized making space for INFRA employees to feel connected to their communities, and to each other. And as we look ahead, this spirit of generosity and community involvement will undoubtedly remain at the heart of INFRA's ongoing efforts to create meaningful change.