Throughout middle school and high school, students are called to serve the community in a variety of ways as a part of different projects. Unfortunately, this service tends to feel like a burden as it comes with poster boards, essays, and verbal presentations. To ease the time attachments that come with serving the community, Sophomore Phoebe Zamoff began “Shop for One More,” a nonprofit organization that helps to bring food to families in need.

The basis is pretty simple: Zamoff⁠⁠⁠—with assistance from her dad⁠⁠⁠—will drop off bins at various homes around Edina about once a month and pick them back up a week later once families have filled them with food. From there, she will bring them to one of her food bank partners, Joyce Food Shelf and VEAP Food Shelf. 

As of right now, Zamoff reports collecting and distributing around 15 bins, most of whom are neighbors or family friends of hers. Zamoff began by reaching out to families she knew, and now gets inquiries through email and direct message.

Throughout the summer, Zamoff was busy planning for her first delivery in late August. She was inspired to start her organization after doing direct service herself. “I worked at a food donation place with my brother and my dad and they had a powerpoint saying that like 1 in 8 Minnesotan families face hunger… So I talked with my dad and was like ‘Well I wanna do something about it’ and so we came up with this idea,” Zamoff said.

The organization’s aim is to bring food to families year round, something that sets it apart from a typical food drive that donates only during the major holidays. The name “Shop for One More” comes from their mission statement, as stated on their website: “Our mission is to get Edina families to shop for one more when they go to the grocery store. One more hungry child. One more family with food insecurity. One more neighbor in need.” 

While they are looking for all sorts of donations⁠—canned vegetables, tuna, flour, toothpaste, and laundry detergent⁠, to name a few⁠—they will report what fresh foods are most in need during that cycle in hopes of “increas[ing] the amount of fresh, nutritious food that is donated.” This past month’s featured fresh food was bananas. 

Although it’s just begun, Zamoff has already become aware that she’ll need to find a way to balance her service with school. “I’m supposed to send out an email to let people know that we have a delivery soon and I’m like ‘shoot I’ve got a ton of homework.’ But I can make time for it [because] it’s important. That’s what motivates me: helping the families and helping the people, because I know we’re doing good,” Zamoff said.