Convening the Coalition

Hometown Food Security Project

Launching the Coalition

In May of 2022, Hormel Foods convened 40 stakeholder organizations to launch The Hometown Food Security Project (HFSP). Each of these organizations had been making a positive impact and effectively serving their own constituencies, but we were certain that working together as one team, we could make an even greater impact in Mower County, Minnesota.

The purpose of this coalition is as simple as it is challenging: No one should worry about hunger in our hometown. While our coalition members—including hunger-relief organizations, government offices, food pantries, schools, healthcare centers, businesses and more—each brought knowledge, community spirit and critical services to the table, we also recognized that something more was needed. By strengthening coordination, deepening collaboration, and investing in new resources and joint initiatives, we could move faster and go further together, addressing immediate needs while also working toward lasting, systemic solutions.

Hormel Foods: A Hands-On Partner in the Community

The role of Hormel Foods in the Hometown Food Security Project reflects a deeper kind of community involvement. Rather than simply providing funding, the company provided time, people and expertise to help strengthen the local efforts to address food insecurity. As a founding member of the coalition, Hormel Foods recognized that long-term change requires more than isolated efforts—it worked to build trust, share knowledge and roll up its sleeves alongside local partners.

The company believes that every community holds valuable strengths, whether in schools, local government, churches, businesses or neighborhood groups. Bringing those strengths together and working in sync can lead to greater impact.

For Hormel Foods, this kind of hands-on partnership is both a responsibility and an opportunity. Supporting efforts to reduce food insecurity helps strengthen the places where the company’s team members live and work. And by listening, learning and working alongside local organizations, Hormel Foods hopes to play a small part in creating healthier, more connected communities, not just in Mower County, but beyond.

Our Short-term and Long-term Goals

The goal of the coalition is to reduce Mower County’s food insecurity rate to 3% by 2030. We aim to achieve this through efficient distribution, ongoing learning and innovation, and strong partnerships among local stakeholders. Providing more effective food distribution is the first step, but we are also identifying and addressing the complex social and economic forces that lead to food insecurity. We are responding to immediate needs while pursuing sustainable, scalable and shareable solutions to this issue.

Just as each individual in need represents a unique experience, every community has different food security challenges, requiring different solutions. Like other communities, we have various stakeholders working to reduce hunger and related issues. But we know that, since some people in our community still don’t have enough food, there is more we can do. We believe that we can accomplish even more by working together.   

In addition to doing the work here in Mower County, we’ve created this repository of insights and best practices to support other communities in their own efforts to reduce food insecurity.