Walker Area Food Shelf

06/04/2026

✨ We hope to see you there! ✨

The warm weather has arrived and we are excited to bring the 2026 Walker Bay Live schedule to our concert-goers and readers.

Walker Bay Live takes place every Thursday starting June 18 and will run through Sep. 3. The free, weekly summer concert series runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at rotating locations around Walker featuring live music, food, brews, art and fun.

Past and recurring locations include Walker City Park Playground, Chase on the Lake Resort, Walker Marine and Chumley Park located next to First National Bank.

Our kickoff to summer begins June 18 at the Walker upper city park, a fundraiser for the Walker Area Food Shelf. Volunteers with the Walker Area Food Shelf will be serving pulled pork, pulled chicken (served on a bakery bun) with chips and a bottle of water for $10 a plate. Cookies will also be sold for $1 each.

All proceeds benefit the Walker Area Food Shelf for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. You may also donate your favorite non-perishable item at the Battle Against Hunger Walker Area Food Shelf table. Opening local entertainment begins with Mama Wags and Boomer followed by the headliner band Adessa and the Beat. This lineup promises to be an excellent kickoff to the Walker summer outdoor concert season.

If you’re not able to attend, donations can be made through the website at walkerareafoodshelf.com PayPal, Venmo and QR Code, mailing a check to P.O. Box 1101, Walker, MN 56484, or drop-off a donation at the Walker Area Food shelf, 8243 Industrial Park Rd. NW.

Be sure to bring a lawn chair, look and follow the directional signs posted around town to find the exact weekly venue and come ready to enjoy a great “Up North” Thursday night.

Since the venues rotate – somewhere in Walker – keep an eye on the official Walker Bay Live page for weekly location announcements, band lineups, food vendors and more.

We’ll see you this summer somewhere in Walker!

Terri Fierstine, Walker Area Food Shelf Board member

04/29/2026

🌟 Together, our YOUTH can accomplish so much! 📣
On April 8th, Hope Lutheran Church Confirmation students and their mentors gathered to spend time together through service. They packed 5 different meals for local families experiencing food insecurity with The Outreach Program of BLA. The meals packed provide lots of nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals. Each kit included ingredients such as rice, pasta, beans, and seasoning and only requires 3-8 cups of boiling water making it easy for families to prepare balanced meals with minimal cooking effort.

The project was made possible through donations from confirmation students, their mentors and a few congregation members contributing over $1000! In addition, money from Thrivent Choice Dollars was approved by the church council to help pay for the meals. Thank you to all who donated.

During a Wednesday night service, a large pyramid of the packed food was built near the altar, where it received a special blessing. Following worship, the youth packed up the boxes and donated them to the Wolf Pack Pantry, Little Free Pantry, and the Walker Area Food Shelf.

Well done, community youth! We appreciate you! 🙌

04/29/2026

04/28/2026

🌷🌼 On April 22nd the second Walker Area Food Shelf volunteer luncheon was held at Hope Lutheran Church in Walker.
Many of the valuable volunteers showed up for this fun event and we are very grateful for their dedicated service to the local food shelf, whether it is working during open hours on Tuesdays, stocking shelves during various shifts during the week, helping with truck deliveries and events that take place in the beautiful Walker community.
On behalf of the Walker Area Food Shelf, we would like to thank the host of the event; Hope Lutheran Church and sponsors; Stifel Financial and Thrivent Financial. The many business and individual donations we received were from: Brittany’s Floral, Bayside Bar & Grill, TJ’s Floral & Gifts, Walker Bay Coffee, The Piggy BBQ, Tianna Country Club, Subway, Jimmy’s Family Restaurant, Walker Building Center, Ortons, Laporte Grocery, Walker Home Center, Jenny’s Beehive, Terri Fierstine, Hannah Sylstad, and Roxanne Johnson.
The tables of happy volunteers enjoyed the lunch and of course the dessert table! Most of all we are very thankful for the loyal service given by those in the community who choose to volunteer as you are invaluable to donate your time and talents to help neighbors in our community.
If you are interested in volunteering at the Walker Area Food Shelf, please visit walkerfoodshelf.com and click on the volunteer tab.

03/31/2026

📣 Thank you Rendezvous Brewing for your support during our March Campaign! 📣

Andrew Soleta, of the Walker Area Food Shelf, receives a check from Rendezvous Brewing owners Doug and Sue Toth at Saturday's fundraising event.

03/19/2026

💛 Feeling Blessed from your generosity! 💛
Ginny Peterson, Countryside Co-op of Hackensack presents Terri Fierstine, Walker Area Food Shelf Board member $5,000 during the March campaign.
Thank you to our friends at the Countryside Co-op! 🙌

03/17/2026

⭐️ Walker Area Food Shelf meets with Rotary ⭐️

Walker Area Food Shelf Executive Director Andrew Soleta and Fundraising Chair Terri Fierstine were guests and featured speakers at the March 3 Walker Rotary luncheon. Last year the Walker Area Food Shelf served 14,186 individuals, including 5,249 children and 2,320 seniors. In 2025 the Food Shelf delivered 325,000 pounds of food and provided a vital safety net for local residents experiencing food insecurity. You can help feed your neighbors by volunteering your time and/or donating to the food shelf, Soleta noted . Every dollar donated between March 1 and April 6 qualifies for a proportional match. Several events will be held during March to spur fundraising. In addition to the recently held Chili Cook Off sponsored by The Pilot-Independent that raised over $12,000, Portage Brewery is sponsoring two events this month that will donate $1 for every two items donated. Rendezvous Brewing is holding a food shelf fundraiser March 28 from 3 to 5 p.m. Music will be provided by Joanne and Ryan Pels and pizza will be provided by Drake’s Pizza. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Walker Area Food Shelf. Food and monetary donations are welcome.
The Walker Area Food Shelf is open Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, go to walkerareafoodshelf.com. Pictured are Soleta and Fierstine.

03/13/2026

🧡 How AMAZING is this! 🧡
Our second Chili Cook Off had a tremendous turn out of community support last weekend. The event, hosted by the Pilot Independent, Walker Area Community Center, and De La Hunt Media raised over $12,000 for the WAFS!
A great time was had by all and our palates were pleased with the chili samples from all 18 of the Chili chef participants! And the winners were.....
Best Chili Chef: Walker Lions Club
Top Fundraiser: Kevin Wellen, WHA School Superintendent
Thank you to our amazing community for the outpouring of support! We truly appreciate it and can't wait for next years event!

03/12/2026

On Saturday, March 7 the second Chili Cook-Off was held at the Walker Area Community Center a new venue this year, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This exciting event had so much enthusiasm and the community definitely showed up to support this tasty event, as the proceeds will benefit the Walker Area Food Shelf during their March campaign which runs March 1 – April 6.

A total of 18 different varieties of chili aromas filled the Walker Rotary Room with many people coming in to participate in the taste-testing and voting on their favorite chili choice. All of the chilis served were unique and delicious and a big thank you to all of the Chili Chefs, as if you hadn’t stepped forward there wouldn’t be a competition!

On behalf of the Walker Area Food Shelf, we are very grateful and would like to thank the Pilot-Independent for promotion, De La Hunt Media for broadcasting and promotion, the WACC for the use of the Walker Rotary Room, the Walker Legion Auxiliary for providing the scrumptious corn bread, the Walker Area Food Shelf Board members and volunteers who donated all of the absolutely delicious desserts, Leech Lake Gaming for providing the cool bottled water, Hope Lutheran Women Quilters for the gorgeous donated quilt, plus we are thankful for all the participants of the Chili Cook-Off tasting event of the year and everyone who also bid on the many Silent Auction items. There are many individuals and businesses to be listed that generously gave through monetary donations and also very creative prizes to add to the Silent Auction. The following is a listing of these contributions received from:

American National Bank, Jon & Beth Andersen, Anonymous donors, Art and Antique Mall of Walker, Arvig, Gary & Darlene Bakker, Bank Forward, Barb’s Greenhouse & Gardens, Bayside Bar & Grill, Donna Beckerleg, Ben Brovold American Family Insurance, Benson’s Eating & Drinking Emporium, Brad Spry State Farm Insurance, Kay Berzak, Steve Bilben, Bre Vinkemeier Photography, Brittany’s Floral and Greenhouse, Christmas Point Wild Rice Co., City Sanitary Service, Countryside Co-op, De La Hunt Media, Dick Weinberg Guide Service, Executive Interiors, Terri Fierstine, Five Star Auto Body, Five Training, Frizzell Furniture, Grand Vu Lodge, Green Scene Market & Eatery, Hackensack Lumber & Hardware, Hair on 5th, Heritage, Hiawatha Beach Resort, Ike’s Heating and Cooling, Jenny’s Beehive, Lakes Area Powersports, Lakeside Fireplace & Stove, LLC, Lampert’s Cabinets, Inc., Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Log Homes Minnesota Inc, Mara Loomis, Mann Lake, Lynne Marchese, Morrill Construction, LLC, Northern Harbor Dock & Lift LL, NorthFire Arms and Outdoors Training, Northwoods Dock & Service, Orton Oil Co., Park Rapids/Walker Eye Clinic, Peculiar Painter, Qwik Pack & Ship of Walker, Resort Marine & Service, Rice Creative Services, LLC, SJ Commercial Advisors, Shear Image, Southside Fuel Plus, Spitzack Builders, Inc., Tj’s Floral & Gifts, Terra Reflections, The Piggy Legendary BBQ, Thrivent Northern Skies Group, Tianna Country Club, Up North Power & Sports, Village Homes of Walker, Carroll Voight, Walker American Legion Spencer-Ross Post 134, Walker General Store, Walker Home Center, Walker Marine, Kevin Wellen, Willow & Water Wellness and IV, Zeroproof Bottle Shop.

This is an excellent opportunity to honor our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. We are grateful to compassionate givers that choose to donate to the cause we share with your time, talent and treasure.

As a reminder, the March campaign runs from March 1 through April 6, 2026 and with each donation during this time period there is a proportionate match through Minnesota FoodShare that will help food dollars stretch even further.

Donations can be made through the website: walkerareafoodshelf.com
PayPal, Venmo and QR Code
Mailing a check to: P.O. Box 1101, Walker, MN 56484
Drop off a donation at the Walker Area Food Shelf,
8243 Industrial Park Rd. NW, Walker, MN
218-547-1713

God bless you and thank you for your generosity.

We look forward to seeing you next year at the 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off!

Sincerely,
Terri Fierstine
Walker Area Food Shelf Board member

03/06/2026

📣 Tomorrows the big day! We hope to see you there! 🍲