Just days after issuing a community-wide SOS for paper grocery bags, St. Paul’s historic Hallie Q. Brown Community Center is breathing a massive sigh of relief, thanks to a major assist from local Hy-Vee stores.
Last week, the nearly 100-year-old social service agency in the Rondo neighborhood sounded the alarm. As winter weather approaches and food insecurity spikes, the center was burning through roughly 100 paper bags a day to keep its choice-model food shelf running smoothly.
Hy-Vee got word about the shortfall and decided to donate 2,000 paper bags.
"I’m blown away," said Hallie Q. Brown Community Center CEO Benny Roberts. "I always start with having a posture of gratitude because no one has to give us a single thing. The fact that they chose to and 2,000 bags, that’s significant. This was so over the top in generosity."
Because the pantry allows neighbors to select items tailored to specific dietary, cultural, and religious needs, the brown bags are essential to maintaining a shopping experience rooted in privacy and dignity. The bags are also durable and hold up to 25 pounds of groceries each, better than plastic bags.
For the folks at Hy-Vee, helping was a no-brainer.
“It's a small gesture, but we hope it helps neighbors facing food insecurity feel cared for,” said Dawn Buzynski, Hy-Vee director of communications. “We believe everyone should have access to food and receive it with dignity.”
Hy-Vee is donating 500 bags each from its four stores in Cottage Grove, Eagan, Maplewood and Oakdale. The donation is especially helpful to the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center as it operates on a lean, efficiency-first model where every saved dollar goes right back into community programming.
"Purchasing bags is an overhead. Each bag is a reduction in expense for us," Roberts explained, noting that the 2,000 bags will cover nearly a month's worth of grocery distribution. "It seems like a small deal, but we go through 100 bags a day in our food shelf. This is a month's worth of grocery bags that we can put our neighbors' food in."
True to his word, Roberts and his staff are making it a priority to show their appreciation personally. "My team is going to pick up the bags so we can say thank you. We want to be able to do that."
As "the headquarters of the Rondo community" continues to provide vital wraparound services—including a free health clinic, veteran support and educational hubs—the bag donation allows the center to focus on the countless other needs it addresses as it helps neighbors navigate higher costs heading into the colder months in Minnesota.
Community members still looking to support the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center can drop off clean paper grocery bags or make financial donations at 270 N. Kent St. in St. Paul, or online here.
