Tomorrow’s pop-up Veteran Food Pantry at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and more

Tomorrow’s Pop-Up Veteran Food Pantry at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center Auditorium will feature a Thanksgiving themed food box complete with a turkey thanks to Jennie-O and Hormel. The Veteran Food Pantry doors open at 10:00 a.m. for Veterans facing food insecurity and are open until 2:00 p.m. or until the food runs out.   

“Since its inception in May we have served nearly 800 Veterans, providing them nearly 23,500 pounds of food, in our monthly Pop-Up Veteran Food Pantry,” said Rachel Hammer, Director of the Center for Development & Civic Engagement, Minneapolis VA Health Care System.  The Veteran Food Pantry occurs every third Tuesday of the month.  

Minnesota Viking Harrison Phillips will be volunteering for the first hour of the food pantry on Tues. Nov. 19 along side his Harrison’s Playmakers.  

 While on campus Tuesday Veterans can walk through a set of giant inflatable lungs in the atrium between 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and visit with subject matter experts on the importance of lung cancer screening. Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Our lung cancer screening awareness event will also promote VA tobacco treatment resources for the Great American Smokeout. 

 On Wednesday a Veteran Job Fair will bring over 30 business and organizations looking for new employees. Last spring nearly 130 Veterans visited a similar job fair at the medical center.  One employer who took part in the spring job fair said, "This is the first job fair I have been to where the attendees have been this interested and motivated!"  

 The Veteran Job Fair is Wed. Nov. 20 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center Auditorium. 

 The Veteran Food Pantry, Lung Cancer Screening Event and Veteran Job Fair are all taking place just inside the main entrance of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis.   

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 Media are invited to attend the events and collect interviews and images. Please RSVP to Melanie Nelson at melanie.nelson3@va.gov or 612-772-1473.  

Melanie Nelson, Public Affairs Officer

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