Minnesota food shelves step up during a time of need

March 2026

The Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) provide support and resources to food shelves with a two-pronged approach:

Resources for food shelf shoppers to save on home energy costs. Like sharing free energy efficient light bulbs, water-saving faucet attachments, and weatherization materials.
Resources for food shelf facilities to lower energy bills via energy efficiency or renewable energy. Like coordinating building energy audits, liaising community partnerships, and sharing grant opportunities.

Across the state of Minnesota, CERTs staff show up to answer questions, make connections, and support solutions for food shelves and shoppers.

CERTs Resources for Food Shelves

Springfield Area Food Shelf

“The Springfield Area Food Shelf (SAFS) has seen a huge increase in people served in the last three years,” says Nadya Bucklin, Southwest CERT regional coordinator and development planner with the Southwest Regional Development Commission. Bucklin organized delivery of 48 sets of window cling to clients at SAFS. She also informed staff about the Open Your Heart grant opportunity. SAFS applied and was recently awarded!

Becky Wandersee, a volunteer with SAFS shares, “The food shelf is receiving $6,662.00 from Open Your Heart, and we will be using it to buy two convertible refrigerator/freezers, a three-part stainless steel sink, a wash-up bucket, heavy-duty shelving, four grocery carts, and a manual pallet mover.”

Wandersee says the community need is only increasing and SAFs is there to meet it.

“I was looking back at some of our numbers and found that in May of 2022 we served 59 households with 141 people. Last month, we served 160 households of 483 people. In terms of people served, that’s an increase of 342%!”

Twin Cities

Keely tabling with energy saving resources The Metro CERT team, directed by the Great Plains Institute, collaborated with the Veggie RX and SuperShelf programs to bring energy-saving items to food shelves and produce distribution events.

Program Associate with the Great Plains Institute, Keely Rau is working with Anoka County Brotherhood Council food shelf, Open Cupboard, and the Midway Project food shelf to provide a wide range of support. This includes sharing funding opportunities and energy audit resources, hosting a resource event alongside Citizens Utility Board and local utilities, and offering energy-saving materials to the community.

“We’re hearing from more and more shoppers about how much they need these resources,” says Rau. “One shopper shared that their utility bills sometimes exceed $300 a month, while another said they face high heating costs so they avoid turning on their electric baseboard heat in the winter. CERTs can help connect communities with resources and solutions to reduce these concerns.”

“Food shelves and the families they serve often face tough challenges with limited resources. By connecting them to energy-saving solutions and support, CERTs helps communities build resilience.”

- Keely Rau, program associate with the Great Plains Institute

Food shelves see increased demand

Much of CERTs food shelf work in Minnesota has benefited from the coordination of Heidi Auel. Auel is the Central CERT Regional Coordinator with the University of Minnesota Extension's Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, with a specialty in non-residential energy efficiency.

“On average, 84% of food shelves have seen an increase in demand for food over the past year. This is coupled with 72% of shoppers reporting choosing between food and other expenses, including utility bills,” says Auel. “If we can help the facilities save energy, we can enable them to allocate more resources to the food and services they provide to the community. It is amazing to see how much energy can be saved by assisting with an energy audit and identifying small changes.”

Many food shelf facilities double as senior centers, church offices, or community gathering spaces. Completing energy-saving steps can benefit more than food shelf customers.

Auel shares examples of energy savings in her region. “The Battle Lake Food Shelf is also the senior center in the town. After having an energy assessment, they upgraded the HVAC system to a ducted air source heat pump, installed LED lighting, and added a solar thermal heating panel which has helped the center reduce their energy costs.”

She continues, “The CROSS Center food shelf in Foley was able to take advantage of the Nonprofit Energy Savings Program and received no-cost retrofits of lighting, as well as increased rebates for new refrigeration. After which, their energy bills were cut in half!”

CERTs will continue working with Minnesota food shelves. The work will continue to prioritize sharing resources for the shoppers to reduce their energy burden, as well as directly work with staff and volunteers at the food shelves to reduce their energy costs.

Do you have a direct connection with a food shelf that might be interested in working with us?

Please contact Heidi Auel, [email protected].

Resources for Food Shelves

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