ABOVE: Heaven’s Table Board Members Deb Adams, left and Greta Lintelman, right, stand on either side of staff member Mary Laabs in the pantry area of Heaven’s Table Food Shelf, located at 909 Winnebago Ave. in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT– Heaven’s Table Food Shelf in Fairmont is celebrating 10 years with an open house to be held this Saturday. Board members hope this will allow the public to see the important work that’s been done to feed thousands in the county over the last decade.

Heaven’s Table first opened in 2012. It was established because a high need of food insufficiencies was detected in Martin County, according to Deb Adams, a 10-year board member. Other board members include Greta Lintelman, Sue Redman, Diana Mosloski, Lynn Reeve and Barb Jensen.

“It’s grown tremendously. When we first opened the doors, we had pre-packed boxes that we gave to clients. It didn’t take us long to figure out we had a portion of that food coming back to us,” Adams said.

She said they quickly figured out that choosing items for people wasn’t the way to go, so they switched to the pantry-style offering that they have now.

However, that style was again changed over the Covid years. Now customers pull up and are given an order form and check off what they want. Then volunteers get the items together. Everything is weighed before it’s loaded into the car. It’s seven pounds per person or 10 pounds per household. However there are bonus shelves that people can get extra items off of.

The food shelf is open for drive-thru Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Adams provided some recent statistics and shared that in 2021, between Fairmont’s and Sherburn’s location, 4,370 people accessed food through Heaven’s Table and received a total of 230,776 pounds of food.

“Last month’s total was about 24,000 pounds that went out the door. The month before that was a higher amount,” Adams said.

In the late summer the amount of pounds goes up as area growers are generous in making donations of fresh produce to them. Adams said they try to get that out to people as quickly as they can.

Saturday’s open house, which will take place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at 909 Winnebago Ave. will include a tour of the facility. Refreshments will also be provided and at this time people can sign up to be a volunteer.

Lintelman said they thought the 10 year anniversary was a good time to open it up and show the public what they’re all about.

“We think there’s a lot of people who don’t know that we’re here or realize what a huge business we really are and that we’re a viable business that needs community support,” Lintelman said.

And they do feel like they’ve gotten good community support over the years. Lintelman said they have hundreds of volunteers, which are needed to do a variety of tasks between unloading the delivery truck, cleaning, stocking shelves and packing boxes and backpacks for programs.

Lintelman said that church groups or different community service organizations will volunteer and there’s also other regulars who volunteer.

“We use at least seven volunteers plus two board members every time the doors are open. It’s not the seven same people every time,” Adams said.

The community has also supported Heaven’s Table financially. Adams, who is the treasurer, said they receive both small and large checks and that each of them helps.

“It’s very important to keeping the program going,” Adams said.

As for the food, most of it comes from Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank out of the Twin Cities which Heaven’s Table has partnered with since its existence. Twice a month Heaven’s Table receives shipments from Second Harvest Heartland.

However, food is also donated by local businesses and individuals. Lintelman said they also buy locally for some basic items that they may be lacking on the food shelf.

“It’s good to have a variety. There are a lot of people who have dietetic issues and can’t have some products so we try to fill those slots. We try to have gluten free items and baby food on hand,” Lintelman said.

In addition to the regular hours, Heaven’s Table offers a variety of programs that serve different demographics in the county.

There is a Nutritional Assistance Programs for seniors (NAPs). The background program is for eligible students grades K-6 at public elementary schools in the county. Right now bags go out weekly to about 350 students. There is also a food shelf for students at Fairmont High School and there’s been one at Martin County West High School as well.

Last year, Heaven’s Table received a two-year grant both from The Schmeeckle Foundation, a local organization, and Second Harvest Heartland. The grant money also allowed Heaven’s Table to hire its first staff person in October. Mary Laabs works on site about six hours a day.

“I’ve always been in the helping field. I enjoy the staff and the volunteers,” Laabs said.

When asked what she wishes people knew about Heaven’s Table, she said how much of a variety is available and how generous it is.

The grant money has also allowed for the food shelf to start a community food box program. So far, the program is up and running in six different communities in the county. The program is an additional effort to get food to people throughout the county and relies heavily on leaders in each community to organize food box pick-up or drop-off.

“Many of these cities have senior populations that have no transportation. Part of the goal is to put the food where the people are,” Lintelman said.

Adams added that they’re close to serving 100 households between the six communities through the box drop program.

Finally, software developments, including new technology and a new website was also made possible with the grant money, in addition to outreach for Hispanic individuals to help improve communication.

While Lintelman and Adams are thankful for all who volunteer and for the dedication of the board members, they’re in need of about three more board members. Board members work three service shifts a month and meet for about an hour a month for a meeting.

“More people make the load lighter for everyone,” Adams said, adding that input and ideas from other people also helps keep ideas fresh.