WADENA — With the conclusion of the 2021 Christmas season, the food and monetary gifts from the "Christmas in Wadena" animated light show headed to the food shelf. The community donated 488 pounds of food to help fill the shelves and donated $2,502.26.
The past 14 years, "Christmas in Wadena" has collected over 5,758 pounds of food and $24,342.94 with 100% going to the food shelf.
"To truly relieve hunger in our community, it’s important that we first transform the thinking behind hunger relief. Providing a bag of groceries to a person in need today is obviously important. But how do we make it so that person isn’t in need tomorrow?" said GP Anderson, creator of "Christmas in Wadena."
"Implementing sustainable systems that feed our neighbors in immediate need while helping them get back on their feet and in position to help others is the key to ending the cycle of hunger," Anderson continued. "It’s becoming increasingly clear that providing our hungry neighbors information about available resources is just as important as the food source itself. What good is a food source if no one knows about it?"
"Christmas in Wadena" is an animated light show to music created, produced, edited, mixed, built and maintained by Anderson. Thousands of people have visited the free display over the past holiday season. Learn more at www.christmasinwadena.com .
