Basic Needs Inc of South Washington County

To support the basic needs of those in our community such as housing, food, clothing, and coordinated services.

We’re thrilled to share that we were named the 2024 Cottage Grove Area Nonprofit of the Year! We are so proud of the incredible work of our volunteers, staff, and supporters that earned such distinguished recognition in our community.

Some Statistics We're All Proud Of:

Last year, we served 162,989 individuals, including 85,939 adults, 50,334 children, and 26,716 seniors. Our Food Market distributed 681,482 pounds of food, while also prioritizing sustainability—rescuing 37,400 pounds of foodfor our Library Food Shelf, which primarily serves low-income seniors, and diverting 21,364 pounds to composting and local hog farms. To make access even easier, we launched a new transportation line with DARTS, providing a weekly ride from the Library Food Shelf to the Food Market for those in need of transportation support. Our Thrift Shop’s Emergency Voucher Program provided over $10,270 in assistance, ensuring individuals and families in crisis could access essential clothing and household items.

Food Market Redesign

We also had the opportunity to work with the Foundation for Essential Needs (FFEN) to increase the efficiency of our market workspace. Through this project, we completely reworked our floor plan, making the best use of every square foot. And thanks to a creative combination of grant funding from Second Harvest Heartland and FFEN, we successfully completed our backdoor expansion project! This means our food deliveries can now enter without scraping the walls or damaging products—a much-needed improvement. You should really come out and see what we’ve done. The volunteers love showing off the new space!

Our Proudest Program Accomplishment:

Our school Food Rescue Program launched in the fall of 2024, and with a lot of hard work and expanded volunteer recruitment efforts, we reached a major milestone early in 2025. We are excited to announce that we are rescuing food in all 23 schools in the South Washington County School District #833. This initiative rescues food from students, preventing waste while redirecting it to those in need. In January alone, we rescued 4,430 pounds of food from school cafeterias! Beyond food recovery, this initiative educates students on food waste reduction and sustainability, fostering lifelong awareness and responsibility.

This past year wasn’t without its challenges and growing pains. We made the difficult decision to lay off our Food Market Manager and transition into a new model that we've adopted as a motto: “volunteer-managed, staff-supported, mission-focused.” Now, seven volunteer leads oversee the day-to-day operations of the Food Market, ensuring that our volunteers continue to serve those who need it most. While change is always tough, it was necessary to adapt to our reality. Our volunteers and organization have stepped up in incredible ways to create a positive and successful path forward in service of our mission.

Thrift Shop Impact and Emergency Support

Our Thrift Shop also plays a vital role in advancing sustainability, keeping hundreds of thousands of pounds of usable goods out of landfills each year while ensuring families can shop with dignity at affordable prices. Beyond its environmental impact, the shop is a lifeline for those in crisis. Through our Emergency Voucher Program, we provided more than $10,270 in assistance last year, helping households secure clothing, winter gear, and household essentials at moments when they needed it most. This combination of waste diversion and direct aid underscores how our thrift store strengthens both the environment and the people in our community.

Community Partnerships We Love!

Collaboration remains at the heart of our work. We are now co-housed with SoWashCo Cares, a local nonprofit serving students and families in need, and at the end of 2024, we welcomed The Connect Center into our space. This has allowed us to better support individuals and families experiencing homelessness, providing coordinated entry services and referrals more seamlessly. Additionally, we are honored to have been designated as a Washington County Family Resource Center site for 2025, strengthening our role as a critical support hub in the region.

PIT Stop Event - Community Resource Fair

Basic Needs hosted our very first PIT Stop event for people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness at the Cottage Grove Armory in November of 2024. This event exceeded all our expectations. While we planned for 100-150 attendees, based on the event we were copying out of Stillwater, we had over 400 individuals come to receive services, clothes, food, community resources, gas and food cards, and a warm meal. It was moving to witness 40 partnering organizations come together to make this event a success. The outpouring of support and collaboration was truly inspiring!

Doubling Down on DEI:

Looking ahead, we are launching a three-year transitional Strategic Plan, which prioritizes program growth, governance, and our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). A major focus will be the active recruitment of board members and leadership from communities of color in South Washington County, ensuring that our organization continues to reflect and meet the needs of the diverse community we serve.