Welcome to Merrick
*Meals on Wheels will NOT be delivered on Friday, January 23rd due to the extreme cold. Please reach out to Tim at 651-219-5531 if you have any questions.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.
Statement from
Nonprofit Hunger-Relief Organizations Serving Minnesota
JANUARY 28, 2026
Since the start of Operation Metro Surge in early December, the presence of thousands of federal ICE agents has brought chaos and violence to the communities we serve, leaving a growing number of our neighbors—including U.S. citizens—too afraid to leave their homes.
People are stranded and hungry. This cannot continue.
Minnesota is fortunate to have a strong and resilient hunger-relief network, especially in times of crisis such as this. However, with so many Minnesotans staying home for fear of being racially profiled, unlawfully detained, separated from their families or worse, we have had to scramble to find new ways to get emergency food to where it’s needed most. Minnesotans have shown up to keep one another fed. Yet at every turn, ICE has made it harder to get food to hungry neighbors, including by following volunteers doing food deliveries, standing outside food shelf entrances, staging from our parking lots or near our facilities, and, in at least one instance, detaining a volunteer. This is on top of the impact on child hunger from missed school meals.
Let us be clear: every Minnesotan—indeed, every human being—deserves to eat. That should not be a controversial statement, and it certainly isn’t a political one. As nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations, we represent a wide variety of viewpoints, beliefs, and life experiences. What we all share is a deep commitment to ending hunger in our communities, and every day that this federal operation continues moves us further from that goal.
For the above reasons, and out of deep concern for our neighbors, we stand united in calling for an immediate end to the surge in federal immigration activity in our state so that we can safely deliver food to neighbors in need and ensure that they can freely attend school and access healthcare and other lifesaving services without fear. Operation Metro Surge is hurting our neighbors, it is making us less safe, it is further dividing our communities, and it is making it harder to get food to Minnesotans in need. Our communities deserve better.
— Signatories —
360 Communities
Anoka County Brotherhood Council
Basic Needs Inc. of South Washington County
Battle Lake Emergency Food Shelf
BBE Area Food Shelf
Belgrade Avenue United Methodist Church
Bread of Life
Bricelyn Food Pantry
Buffalo Food Shelf
Building Blocks of Islam
CAER Food Shelf
Calvary Food Shelf
CAPI USA
Caring For All Inc.
Change Inc.
Shiloh Cares Food Shelf
Comet’s Cupboard
Community Emergency Assistance Programs
Community Emergency Service (CES)
Community Pathways of Steele County
Create Catering
CROSS Services
Department of Indian Work
Division of Indian Work
East African Dream Food Shelf
East Side Neighborhood Services
ECHO Food Shelf
Emma Norton Services
Every Meal
Eyota Food Pantry
Fhima’s Minneapolis
Foundation for Essential Needs
Friendship Community Services FoodHub
Groveland EmergencyFood Shelf
Hastings Family Service
Haven Pantry
Hometown Resource Center
Hope for the Community
Houston Community Food Shelf
Hunger Impact Partners
ICA Food Shelf
ICNA RELIEF
Joyce Uptown Food Shelf
KOOTASCA Community Action, Inc.
La Despensa
Le Center Food Shelf
Loaves & Fishes Food Shelf
Manna Food Pantry, Inc.
Manna Market/YouthWay Ministries
McGregor Area Food Shelf
McLeod Food Shelf
MCVC Food Shelf
Merrick Community Services
Mi C.A.S.A. MN
MinneHarvest
Mount Olivet Lab School, Inc. NOURISH
Murray County Food Shelf
Muslim American Society of Minnesota
NCBC Food Shelf
NEAR Food Shelf
Neighborhood House
Neighbors, Inc.
New Creations Ministries COGIC
Norway Community Association
Open Arms of Minnesota
Open Cupboard
Open Hands Midway
Outreach Food Shelf
Pamoja Women Organization
Pillsbury United Communities
People Reaching Out to Other People (PROP)
Ralph Reeder Food Shelf
Red Wing Area Food Shelf
Redwood Area Food Shelf Inc.
Rochester Community Church
Second Harvest Heartland
Southern Anoka Community Services (SACA)
St. Louis Park Emergency Program
St. Andrew’s Community Resource Center
St. Philip’s Food and Clothing Shelf
Strandquist Food Shelf
The Aliveness Project
The Camden Promise
The Corner Shelf
The Food Group
The Good Acre
The Kitchen at Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Peter Minnesota
The Open Door
The Salvation Army Minneapolis Central Corps
The Sanneh Foundation
Tri-Community Food Shelf
Uplift North
Urban Roots MN
Valley Outreach
VEAP, Inc.
Wright County Community Action (WCCA)
Western Communities Action Network (WeCAN)
White Bear Area Food Shelf
Statement on Second ICE Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis
January 26, 2026
Merrick Community Services mourns the tragic and avoidable death of a second ICE Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti on January 24. Federal Officials have repeatedly put forward a narrative, which caused Susan and Michael Pretti to release a statement about their son. We cannot think of any more eloquent words to convey our sentiments and hope in the wake of this senseless crime.
Alex Pretti’s Parents’ Statement:
We are heartbroken but also very angry.
Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in the world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.
I do not throw around the “hero” term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.
Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
In addition to adding AMEN to the Pretti’s statement, we continue to call for a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation with local, state, and federal agencies to confirm what transpired to ensure justice for both Alex Pretti and Renee Good and their families.
Along with our local and state leaders and all people of goodwill, we implore (once again) ICE to leave Minnesota, to end further violence and cruelty, which has been predicted and is avoidable. ICE’s departure will allow us to overcome the fear and hatred and division that their presence has created.
Minnesota is better than this. America is better than this.
Statement on Recent ICE Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command…..And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth.” – 1984, George Orwell
“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, 1968
Merrick Community Services mourns the tragic and avoidable death of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE Agent in Minneapolis. We share with Renee and her neighbors an affinity and concern for our Latino and Somali brothers and sisters (and other People of Color), who ICE has been targeting in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul and throughout Minnesota with an unprecedented 2,000 Agents (and hundreds more just announced by DHS to be deployed that will only further inflame a grieving community). This has resulted in families being ripped apart and tremendous terror and great pain and fear among some of our most vulnerable members of our community.
We believe that Dr. King’s assertion that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice is true. And, we also know that we cannot reject the evidence of our eyes and ears, as George Orwell admonished.
We hope a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation with local, state, and federal agencies will take place and confirm what transpired and ensure justice for Renee and her family. In the meantime, we will continue to offer (as we have for over 118 years) a variety of welcoming resources and services for immigrants, refugees, and other new arrivals to the East Side of Saint Paul and beyond. Everyone we are privileged to serve deserves to feel safe and welcomed and celebrated for the innate value they bring to our community. We are, indeed, growing stronger together.
Along with our local and state leaders and all people of goodwill, we implore ICE to leave Minnesota, to end further violence and cruelty, which has been predicted and is avoidable. ICE’s departure will allow us to overcome the fear and hatred and division that their presence has created.
Minnesota is better than this. America is better than this.
FREE TAX PREP at
Merrick Community Services
P+P provides free tax preparation and financial services to individuals making $40,000 or less and families with income of $70,000 or less. All tax returns are prepared by IRS-certified volunteers attending extensive training through P+P.
Merrick in a Time of Change:
Adapting and Evolving
Today, Merrick Community Services stands as one of the oldest nonprofit agencies in Ramsey County, with a history of assisting individuals and families transition from poverty and become self-sufficient and stable. The core programs of MCS are Employment & Career Services, Family & Community Services, Food Shelf, and Meals on Wheels
Merrick Community Services remains committed to breaking the cycle of multi-generational and concentrated poverty in our community. We will continue to work with others in challenging and advocating for systems change. But, to be successful, we all need to be pulling in the same direction – to bend toward justice.
Hours of Operation
Monday – Thursday, 8 AM – 5:30 PM
CLOSED FRIDAYS
Immediate need?United Way assistance line by dialing 211
Ramsey County Mental Health Crisis line at 651-266-7900 (adults) or 651-266-7878 (under 18)
Any other needs please leave a message for Merrick Staff at 651-771-9339.