Prior Lake, Minnesota - The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announced today that it has awarded several donations to Minnesota food shelves for fiscal year 2007. The largest donation of $5,000 went to Loaves and Fishes of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Loaves and Fishes provides meals at eight Twin City locations to over 1,450 people each evening.

A $1,000 donation went to the Centre for Asians and Pacific Islanders (CAPI), Minneapolis. Their food shelf meets the special dietary needs of the Southeast Asian diet, serving more than 1,100 individuals per month. CAPI serves as a community center for Asians and Pacific Islanders, meeting many of their specialized needs in the area of employment, training, education, and social services that include elder care, school advocacy, health access, and resettlement services.

A $1,000 donation to Hunger Solutions, St. Paul, supports their Food Shelf Capacity Building Program that assists food shelves in crisis, offers training and consultation, and provides targeted initiatives that increase the food shelves' capacity to distribute fresh, nutritious produce and culturally appropriate foods.

The SMSC also made donations to the Emergency Foodshelf Network of New Hope, Minnesota. This organization is a food bank that collects and distributes food to local foodshelves and provides technical assistance. They work with hunger relief programs around the state.

A matching grant to the Deer River Area Food Shelf from the SMSC will help purchase food. They have seen a 7% increase in food shelf usage over the past year.

Other SMSC donations in fiscal year 2007 to the Division of Indian Works, the Department of Indian Works, and Dakota Baptist Church also support food shelves.

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