The Sanneh Foundation

The Sanneh Foundation was one of the first partners that moved into the hub. Since late 2021, the Sanneh Foundation has been working in the former ambulance bays to expand food access and distribution capabilities and services. You can learn more about the Sanneh Foundation, which focuses on supporting education, health and wellness, and youth development in the Twin Cities area by advancing diversity, equity, and community well-being, here.

Providing access to nutritious food is one way to address the social determinants of health, but the work of the Sanneh Foundation goes deeper. Here, three representatives from the Sanneh Foundation share about the exciting work underway at the hub.

Workforce development  

A lot of people understand the concept of hunger or that there are communities that live in food deserts or food swamps where they don't get the food resources they need. In many of these communities, the need for resources goes further. That’s why we’ve incorporated workforce development as part of our work and program. We hire youth to pack and deliver our food boxes. These are usually 16- to 24-year-old young adults, many who are from the local community, who can obtain a livable wage working with us while getting job skills, experience, and development that they can take to their future careers. The work we put into our program is all intentional, so that we can really meet the whole needs of a person we are serving.  

 ~ Brandon Griffin, Senior Vice President of Operations  

 

Responding to community needs 

One of the most exciting parts of being at the hub is that, in being closer to the community, we can have better awareness and connection when people or groups have specific dietary issues, food requests, or cultural sensitivity regarding food. We are able to work with our food partners and tailor-make deliveries for those communities that are respectful of their needs. We have the resources, the space, the volunteers, and the connections to help get that specific feedback from our communities. Having a centralized point like the hub helps us remain active and responsive to the community.  
 
~ James Chrisman, Food Rescue Driver 

 

Food as a human right

Food is a human right, it's not a privilege that some people should get and some people don't. At the Sanneh Foundation, we're really trying to bridge the gap and make sure that everybody has access to the food that they need. We offer client choice models of food distribution. This means our distributions are like a farmer's market, where people can go up and select which kinds of foods, household items, even pet foods that they want to take home, rather than receiving a pre-determined box of canned goods or soup. Those may provide some sustenance, but may not meet the cultural specifications or the nutritional guidelines that are needed by the individual.

We’re excited to introduce a new meal box program in partnership with Fairview that will produce 1,600 meal boxes a week. The boxes will include locally-sourced produce and proteins, pantry staples, and recipes that people can use for inspiration. The recipes are cohesive and carefully thought out, teaching skills ranging from pickling or blanching to budgeting and grocery shopping, skills we hope people will apply even outside of the meal box program.  

~ Katie Herrick, Nutritional Services Manager