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Jun 12, 2023

Former Pequot Lakes food shelf director returns

PEQUOT LAKES — Tamara “Tammy” Larsen is the new director of the Lakes Area Food Shelf in Pequot Lakes. Larsen’s appointment came by a unanimous vote of the LAFS board of directors during its regular

PEQUOT LAKES — Tamara “Tammy” Larsen is the new director of the Lakes Area Food Shelf in Pequot Lakes.

Larsen’s appointment came by a unanimous vote of the LAFS board of directors during its regular meeting in August. She succeeds former Director Kathy Adams , who resigned in early August.

Larsen will be on the job Sept. 5, a food shelf news release said.

This is a homecoming for Larsen, who led the food shelf in 2020 and 2021, guiding the food shelf through the COVID-19 pandemic. She left in the spring of 2021 for family reasons.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to return to Lakes Area Food Shelf and can’t wait to get back to work,” Larsen said in the news release, after the board’s vote.

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She takes over at a time of transformational growth and change at the food shelf, both in the need for food distribution and in expansion of its services.

Driven by inflation and the expiration of pandemic relief programs, food shelf visits are trending upward by at least 30% in 2023. The increases mirror growth in 2021 and 2022 and are consistent with food shelves throughout Minnesota.

The LAFS broke ground in June for a $500,000 building addition to house a Community Resource Hub . The hub will be a satellite office for social service providers. They’ll assist friends and neighbors in overcoming barriers that led them to need the food shelf.

This holistic approach addressing the root causes of hunger is endorsed by Feeding America, the leading nonprofit hunger advocacy organization in the United States, because “... hunger is a complex issue. When people face hunger, they often struggle to meet other basic needs.”

The expansion also provides much needed warehouse space as the food shelf grows its sourcing through local grocers and the Farms to Food Shelf program . Farms to Food Shelf delivers fresh, high quality, nutrient rich produce to the LAFS, Pine River Area Food Shelf and the CommUnity Meals Program, all harvested from area farmers.

“I am thrilled Tammy is back at LAFS, especially in this transformational moment,” Board Chairperson Tim Moore said in the news release. “We appreciate Kathy Adams’ vision in engaging the community through the strategic planning process that led to the hub. Tammy’s strong operational and technical skills will manage both the increased need for food and our expanded services.”

Before joining the food shelf, Larsen worked in tech and banking, leading strong technical teams developing and supporting large, complex analytical systems as well as selling and implementing data warehousing and business intelligence software.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

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She lives in Pequot Lakes with her husband, Tom, who’s been a LAFS volunteer.

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