Empty Bowls : Grand Marais, MN

06/15/2026

Grand Marais Farmers Market Starts June 18th at the Cook County Community Center Parking Lot

Power of Produce
The Power of Produce program is sponsored by the Oral Health Task Force and Empty Bowls. This program is for kids ages 4-12 and low-income seniors ages 65+. Kids ages 4-12 can visit the welcome booth with a parent or guardian at the Market to sign up. Seniors visit the welcome booth to sign up as well. The income guidelines for seniors are: Family size 1- income limit $70000, 2- $95000, 3- $118000, 4-$143000. Club members will receive a canvas bag and five tokens each week to spend on any produce items at the Market. Club members may spend all of their tokens each week or save them for a later market in the same year.
*Note: Parents must bring the child requesting the tokens with them each week in order to receive them. Tokens are given only for the weeks you attend the Market.

Together We Grow
In addition to their usual benefits, users of the WIC program in Cook County and Grand Portage can show their WIC card at the Market Welcome booth each week to receive $20 in tokens for purchases at the market. Each token is worth $1 and may be spent on any food item at the market.
*Note: Tokens are only given for the weeks you attend the Market.

SNAP and Market Bucks at the Market!
Customers can now use their SNAP benefits to shop at the market AND access Market Bucks to triple their buying power!
How to use SNAP and Market Bucks:
Visit the Welcome Booth with your SNAP/EBT card
We'll swipe your card to authorize spending in the amount of your choice. You'll be issued wooden tokens to spend at the market. One token = $1.
Each week, you can also access free Market Bucks to match your SNAP benefits. Up to $10 matched each week in both Market Bucks and Produce Market Bucks. $10 of SNAP becomes $30 total!
Visit the vendor booths and spend your tokens and market bucks on fresh, delicious, local food! Vendors have signs indicating SNAP/Market Bucks accepted here.

What can I purchase with SNAP, Market Bucks, Produce Bucks and Together We Grow tokens on at the market?
SNAP, Market Bucks and Together We Grow can be used on fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, honey and maple products, baked goods, jams, jellies, pickles, sauces, AND seeds and plants that produce food.
Produce Market Bucks can be used on fresh fruits and vegetables only.

https://cookcountymn.gov/.../community.../food_market.php

Grand Marais Farmers Market Starts June 18th at the Cook County Community Center Parking Lot

Power of Produce
The Power of Produce program is sponsored by the Oral Health Task Force and Empty Bowls. This program is for kids ages 4-12 and low-income seniors ages 65+. Kids ages 4-12 can visit the welcome booth with a parent or guardian at the Market to sign up. Seniors visit the welcome booth to sign up as well. The income guidelines for seniors are: Family size 1- income limit $70000, 2- $95000, 3- $118000, 4-$143000. Club members will receive a canvas bag and five tokens each week to spend on any produce items at the Market. Club members may spend all of their tokens each week or save them for a later market in the same year.
*Note: Parents must bring the child requesting the tokens with them each week in order to receive them. Tokens are given only for the weeks you attend the Market.

Together We Grow
In addition to their usual benefits, users of the WIC program in Cook County and Grand Portage can show their WIC card at the Market Welcome booth each week to receive $20 in tokens for purchases at the market. Each token is worth $1 and may be spent on any food item at the market.
*Note: Tokens are only given for the weeks you attend the Market.

SNAP and Market Bucks at the Market!
Customers can now use their SNAP benefits to shop at the market AND access Market Bucks to triple their buying power!
How to use SNAP and Market Bucks:
Visit the Welcome Booth with your SNAP/EBT card
We'll swipe your card to authorize spending in the amount of your choice. You'll be issued wooden tokens to spend at the market. One token = $1.
Each week, you can also access free Market Bucks to match your SNAP benefits. Up to $10 matched each week in both Market Bucks and Produce Market Bucks. $10 of SNAP becomes $30 total!
Visit the vendor booths and spend your tokens and market bucks on fresh, delicious, local food! Vendors have signs indicating SNAP/Market Bucks accepted here.

What can I purchase with SNAP, Market Bucks, Produce Bucks and Together We Grow tokens on at the market?
SNAP, Market Bucks and Together We Grow can be used on fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, honey and maple products, baked goods, jams, jellies, pickles, sauces, AND seeds and plants that produce food.
Produce Market Bucks can be used on fresh fruits and vegetables only.

https://cookcountymn.gov/government/departments/community_center/food_market.php

06/15/2026

Looking for a pop up food pantry in Cook County? I want to highlight the option at the Senior Center/HUB in their entry way and at the YMCA. Thank you to those organizations and community members for finding this out of the box way to be of support! Both pop ups are available when their respective organization are open.

Cook County HUB / Senior Center https://www.grandmaraishub.com/

Cook County YMCA https://www.facebook.com/cookcountycommunityymca/

05/29/2026

Cook County families looking to participate in Pack and Pantry this summer / school year can contact Vital North Program Manager Anne Graybeal at [email protected].

Pack & Pantry recognizes that food insecurity lasts year-round. When school is not in session, enrolled families receive grocery gift cards to bridge the gap, including $600 over the course of the summer and $150 each for Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks.

Beginning Fall 2026, Pack & Pantry will provide enrolled families with a $20 weekly grocery voucher specifically designated for protein and fresh produce. This targeted investment ensures that children have access to the nutritious, high-quality foods that support health, development, and learning. Weekly vouchers and supplemental groceries are sent home discreetly with students, making participation simple and stigma-free.

https://wtip.org/pack-and-pantry-aims-to-support-family-food-access-over-the-summer/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSGglxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFVRnZEVWt3Vkh0UEZiUUhOc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvFBVhO3r014y7LYJM3bJruxHGcnyKLyQ5IscUR1k3UjKM4v9CLBxoC3S5iy_aem_ZkdajSXCOf3lekdf8fQEnQ

Over the years, the Pack and Pantry program has had an assortment of names. It has been known as the Backpack Program, and Snacks and Pack. Heading into this summer however, and now under the management of Vital North Foundation, the family food access program has both a new name and an expanded goa...

04/20/2026

Be there. This Saturday, April 25th from 9am to 2pm.

Free quarters provided by the Bethlehem Lutheran Chuch.

Come on in to get your clothes clean.

02/23/2026

Empty Bowls Grant Application - Help us fight hunger in Cook County https://forms.gle/LzfMW5u7zp36yQGq9

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 28, 2026

ELIGIBILITY: Non-profits, schools, and any other organizations or groups serving Cook County’s hunger needs

What is Empty Bowls?
https://www.boreal.org/2025/11/19/552888/today-empty-bowls-fundraiser-to-help-fight-hunger-in-cook-county-on-with-annual-event-on-november-19th

In 2024, 30 organizations were granted up to $5,000 to help feed kids, families, and Seniors.

02/04/2026

Empty Bowls Grant Application - Help us fight hunger in Cook County https://forms.gle/LzfMW5u7zp36yQGq9

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 28, 2026

ELIGIBILITY: Non-profits, schools, and any other organizations or groups serving Cook County’s hunger needs

What is Empty Bowls?
https://www.boreal.org/2025/11/19/552888/today-empty-bowls-fundraiser-to-help-fight-hunger-in-cook-county-on-with-annual-event-on-november-19th

In 2024, 30 organizations were granted up to $5,000 to help feed kids, families, and Seniors.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 28, 2026 ELIGIBILITY: Non-profits, schools, and any other organizations or groups serving Cook County’s hunger needs Examples of how funds could be used (but not limited to): • To purchase grocery store gift cards, gas station gift cards, food vouchers, vegetable o...

11/24/2025

The program is available to any of the local schools, but at this time it is only active at Sawtooth Elementary School and Great Expectations School (GES). Waddle said that about 10 GES students and 60 Sawtooth students participate in the program.

Interested in having it come to another Cook County School? Contact your school and request it.

There are two sizes that program participants can chose from. The smaller size is portioned to provide food for one child over a weekend. The larger family pack is sized to supplement a whole family’s food needs over a weekend. Waddle said that because some of them are receiving a family bag, the impact of the program extends beyond the roughly 70 students participating.

The bags generally contain shelf-stable items, and Waddle said they tend to be simple meals that a child could prepare on their own if necessary. She added, though, that the Grand Marais Food Shelf provides additional support to program participants in the form of vouchers to local grocery stores that can be used to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

Waddle said that any school family experiencing food insecurity can access the program. She said that the schools typically try to let parents know about the option at the beginning of the year, but that it isn’t too late to take part. At Sawtooth, the program is organized by Anna Sandstrom, the school social worker, who can be contacted at [email protected]. GES parents can contact Lesa Hofer at [email protected].

Food security programs have gotten a lot of attention over the past several weeks as uncertainty swirled around funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Across the nation communities rallied to support food access systems, and it increased awareness of what resources are ava...

11/17/2025

Our annual fundraiser is almost here! We look forward to seeing you all at Up Yonder for a delicious soup lunch & dinner this Wednesday, November 19th 11-1 & 5-7!

11/13/2025

Our annual fundraiser is coming up on 11/19!
We'd love to have you join us as a volunteer, please click this link to see available shifts: https://tinyurl.com/2mryyxdb
We're also looking for delicious baked goods for our bake ale, please click this link to sign up to contribute a treat: https://tinyurl.com/2tna4wyk

11/07/2025

Our annual event on November 19th infuses our community with much needed funding support for food security. We are still looking for event volunteers before, during, and after the fundraiser as well as bake sale volunteers who are willing to donate their delicious goods! Please see sign ups below.

Bake sale goods still needed:
https://tinyurl.com/2tna4wyk
Cupcakes, cookies, bars, breads, pies, vegan, gluten free items.

Volunteers still needed for the event: https://tinyurl.com/2mryyxdb
Just some of the volunteer needs:
Set Up - Tuesday 4:00pm-6:30pm
Dishwashers - Wednesday 10:30am- 3:00pm
Set Up & Soup Stirrers - Wednesday 1:30pm-4:00pm
Dishwashers - Wednesday 4:45pm- 8:30pm
Soup Stirrers - Wednesday 4:00pm-7:30pm
Can't figure out the sign up form? Call 218-370-1281