Celebrate Cooperative Month—NCC donates to area schools
Recently Northern Country Cooperative made donations to area schools for their BackPack Programs. The schools receiving donations include the Minnesota schools of Alden-Conger, LeRoy, Glenville-Emmons, Grand Meadow, Lyle and Southland Public Schools, and the Iowa schools of St. Ansgar and Riceville.
Over the past three years NCC has donated over $42,000 to the BackPack Program, along with 6,480 meat sticks and 5,736 cartons of shelf stable milk. The program supplies school children in need with nutritious meals for the weekend. These backpacks of food are assembled at area schools, food banks, or other organizations and then distributed to the children.
Northern Country Coop employees and other volunteers set up a food stand each summer at area tractor pulls. Grilled ribeye steaks, brat patties and hamburgers along with chips and beverages are sold to raise money. Volunteers have also worked at Pizza Ranch, Austin, Minn., with profits going to the BackPack Program.
This large donation is made possible through a partnership with Nutra Blend, CoBank and Land O’ Lakes. NCC is enrolled in Nutra Blend’s “Drive to Feed Kids” program, in which funds can be used for local food assistance programs, such as the BackPack Program. In addition, CoBank’s “Sharing Success” a charitable contribution program will match Northern Country Coop’s contribution. Land 0’ Lakes Foundation is also pleased to match donations to rural communities where members, employees, and facilities are located. The meat sticks and milk donations are possible through the “Main Course Project,” sponsored by NutraBlend.
