Sold out event a big boost for Hastings Family Service

By Bruce Karnick [email protected]

A major fundraiser for Hastings Family Service, Hastings Tastings returned for 2022, and it was a huge success. Guests had the opportunity to bid on hundreds of different silent auction items, and 12 different vendors brought food and drink for patrons to sample. No one left disappointed or hungry. The staff of the establishments were just as excited to be a part of the event as the guests. Along with food, the vendors brought gift cards to be raffled off as well.

This year’s participants were Alexis Bailly Vineyard, American Legion Post #47, Coborn’s Deli, Cub Foods Deli, Culvers, Froth & Cork, Green Mill, Hastings Public House, Jimmy John’s, Lock and Dam Eatery, The Onion Grille, and Spiral Brewery. The Onion Grille was selected by attendees as the People’s Choice award winner with the American Legion as the runner up. The event raised $12,500 for the MN Foodshare March campaign.

According to Amy Sutton, the format changed somewhat for the 2022 event. “We scaled it back a little bit, we really wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a hardship for the restaurants to be here this year, they’ve been through a tough couple of years, too. While this space usually holds 400, we

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sold 250 tickets to this event, and we sold out early. The great part about it is that all of the dollars raised tonight are proportionately matched by Minnesota FoodShare. Even a $25 ticket to get into the event has a big impact. A $25 gift for Hastings Family Service can feed a family of three for over a week, so, it is a really important event for us right now.”

The event normally raises between $20,000 and $25,000 but the decreased attendance was expected to cut back on that, and it did.

Kelly Carter, Development and Community Relations coordinator expressed special thanks to St Elizabeth Ann Seton church for hosting the event; the HFS Board members for donating the Wall of Wine and to Hohenstein Distributing for donating the Bucket of Beer for the raffles; to the Hastings Public House for providing the linens and the cash bar that provided a portion of the proceeds to the event; to Randy Berg for sharing his talented piano playing; to area businesses and individuals who donated to the silent auction, and to all of the volunteers who helped to prepare, set up, tear down, haul items, and worked or attended the event to support HFS. HFS is also grateful to all of the community members who purchased tickets to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hastings Tastings while feeding hungry families at the same time. The special anniversary ticket price of $25 feeds a family of three for over a week.

Through COVID, HFS has made many adjustments including a significant uptick in families receiving help.

“We used to serve about 100 families a month in our food shelf. And we did that all, in person,” explained Sutton. “Well, now that we’ve shifted to a drive thru, and because of COVID, and all the different things that are happening, we had one week in January, where we provided over 2500 meals in a week. The need has definitely grown, the hard part right now is that families had a long, hard winter. So those families that are already, struggling with a really tight budget had higher than usual heating bills. Now we’re coming out of a pandemic, but into an economic issue where food costs more and gas costs more. So those families that are living really close to the edge are struggling right now. We’re just happy that we’re able to be here to help.”

The MN FoodShare March campaign concludes on April 10th. Every dollar and every pound of food donated from Feb 28th – April 10th receives a proportionate match from MN FoodShare. According to Sutton, MN Foodshare is an important time for HFS.

“The food and dollars raised throughout MN Food-Share help to carry the HFS Market food shelf well into the busy summer months,” said Sutton. “With the cost of food and gas escalating for HFS and for the people we serve, this support makes a tremendous impact in our community.”

To help HFS, bring donations to 301 2nd St. E or donate online at www.hastingsfamilyfired

Photo by Bruce Karnick

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Amy Sutton, Executive Director of Hastings Family Service, welcomed guests and emcee’ d the 25th anniversary of Hastings Tastings at St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Church in Hastings.

The American Legion Post 47 Team earned the runner up spot for the people’s choice award for this year’s Hastings Tastings.