Bemidji, Minn., Post 14 has donated $10,000 over the past two years to the Bemidji Community Food Shelf.
In Minnesota, the month of March serves as a major fundraiser for the state’s hundreds of food pantries. Donations made during the FoodShare campaign restock the shelves of those entities designed to help individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Each donation made from March 1 through April 6 receives a partial match from GiveMN, which links donors with organizations to facilitate charitable giving.
In the small city of Bemidji, an American Legion post has supported the FoodShare campaign for a while. But that support has grown over the past two years. Recently, Ralph Gracie Post 14 made its annual donation to the Bemidji Community Food Shelf. And it was a sizeable one.
“We’ve donated to the Food Shelf for several years, but the last two years we’ve been able to bump it up to $5,000,” said Wendell Affield, a longtime member of Post 14’s Gambling Proceeds Committee, which oversees the distribution of post donations generated through the sale of pull tabs. “We try to keep our donations pretty local. I like to think our members are empathetic for those less fortunate.”
Affield said Bemidji is located in a low-income area, which makes entities like the Food Shelf a critical part of the community. “Food insecurity, especially with these high prices we’ve experienced the last several years, it’s really at the forefront for many people,” he said. “Today, you can carry out $60 to $80 worth of groceries in a few bags. So when you have a young family with all the extra expenses that a growing family has … I can see where there just isn’t enough money.
“One of the things you see on the news is credit card debt is at record highs. I’m guessing a fair amount of that credit card debt is because of purchasing groceries and other necessities.”
The Food Shelf isn’t the only recipient of Post 14’s generosity. “We donate to a homeless shelter,” Affield said. “It’s sad we have homeless veterans. With our frigid winters we have – 20, 30 below at times – you can’t be outside.”
As a teenager, Affield said he left home and “road the rails. I ate out of garbage cans behind restaurants.” That – and his experience while serving in Vietnam and seeing local farmers struggling to survive because of a lack of food – helped shape his views of helping others now.
He regularly volunteers at the Food Shelf and encourages other Legionnaires to do volunteer work at similar entities because of an interaction he had a few years ago with a fellow veteran seeking help from the facility.
Affield said the veteran looked like he was in distress, and when questioned what was wrong, he told Affield he couldn’t afford the medications he needed, and that he didn’t qualify for any benefits because he never served in combat.
“I said, ‘Glenn, you’re shopping at the Food Shelf. You qualify for veterans’ benefits from a financial point of view,’” Affield said. “I connected him with our county veterans service officer. Quite some time later, Glenn came into the Food Shelf, he looked at me and he said, ‘You saved my life.’
“I tell that story because every time I work a shift at the Food Shelf, someone I see I’ll ask, ‘Are you a veteran?’ It’s amazing to me how many men and women are veterans, and they don’t think they qualify for any veterans’ benefits. Don’t be afraid to ask folks if they are veterans if they look like they are struggling.”
- Community