Fundraiser at Legion supports food shelf during tough time

A fundraiser at the Waseca American Legion hall the evening of Oct. 17 benefitted the Waseca Area Food Shelf and its supporting organization, the Neighborhood Service Center thrift store (WANSC). Volunteers from the WANSC helped staff all facets of the fish and burger feed, bake sale, and meat raffle. 

 

Because of construction on Second Street Northwest, access to the thrift store has been restricted since August. With sidewalks leading to the building removed, the store is even closed from now until Oct. 26. Donations to the store and purchases from its stock have been greatly reduced, which causes complications because funds from sales supplement all the services provided at the facility.

 

Cindy Kolander, executive director of the WANSC, expressed gratitude to the American Legion for hosting last week’s fundraiser. She was there that evening helping out with the bake sale. “We have 13 volunteers helping us tonight, with the sale and to make the food or clear tables, we couldn’t do it without them.,” said Kolander.  As she was speaking, Lindsey McCarty of McCarty Farms who is a frequent vendor at weekly Waseca farmers market, walked into the Legion carrying three boxes of her fancy scones. She set them down on the table saying, “My friend Maraie, who runs the stand next to mine at the farmers market, asked if I wanted to donate tonight. Of course I said yes.”

 

The menu was hamburger, cheeseburger, fish sandwich or fish with cheese, all of these came with fries; there was a to-go option and a table full of condiments. While waiting for their food, diners could peruse the bake sale for zucchini bars, doughnuts, scones, brownies, assorted cookies, banana bread, chocolate peanut butter crunchy bars, pizzelles(Italian cookies), apple cider donuts, chocolate marble bars or pumpkin cake. In the bar was the meat raffle, being announced by Mary Jo Knudson. She was asked what she was getting for dinner, and she replied, “I don’t decide that until game time, right at the last minute before I order and it will be a little bit before I get over there, I got meat to raffle off. But I did get some Italian cookies and Pecan banana bread from the bake sale.”

 

All of the baked sale items were donated and once costs were covered, all proceeds went to benefit the food shelf.