I was working as the intake person (greeter) during one of the Pine River Food Shelf shifts last week. This is a privileged position because you get to welcome all the neighbors coming into the food shelf.

One family consisted of an elderly couple that is caring for a teenage granddaughter. Another family was a combination of three couples and two children.

I thought that it was a creative way to combine resources to meet the escalating cost of living.

We had a few over 65 couples along with single individuals needing help with groceries. Nineteen households sought food support that day. We usually see 15 new families in a month representing around 29 new people.

I set up the paperwork for each family before a shopper took them into the food shelf. We do not share any statistics with any agency or granters except numbers on monthly data reports. Privacy of our neighbors is very important to the values of our program.

New families can be hesitant to come here, but we reassure them that we understand their situations where finances are impacted and buying groceries can be difficult. That is why we are here!

As a designated SuperShelf in Minnesota, our neighbors are able to enter our bright, colorful store and pick exactly what food they know their families will enjoy. The only thing our new market lacks is a cash register.

If once a month is not enough, families are encouraged to return.

Everyone is sharing their shock of prices at the gas pump and the grocery stores. It costs us more to stock our shelves.

If you have any questions about visiting our food shelf, please call 218-587-4292. We are located at 245 Barclay Ave. in Pine River. LuAnn is our new food shelf coordinator. Any suggestions will be welcomed.

Kathleen Stephan is a volunteer at the Pine River-Backus Family Center and Pine River Food Shelf.