2,700 Pounds of Food Donated at Festival of Trees Event

DULUTH, Minn. — The 38th annual Festival of Trees fundraising event took place at the DECC over the weekend of Nov. 15, wrapping up with a strong attendance and a successful outcome.

Organized by the women’s volunteer and leadership training organization, the Junior League of Duluth, the event featured more than 170 vendors, including retail shops and nonprofits. The festival also included a mini-tree auction and a raffle. Attendees were asked to bring non-perishable food items. This year, 2,700 pounds of food were collected, an over 65% increase compared to last year. Local nonprofit, CHUM, was selected as this year’s recipient for food donations.

“It’s always great to see so many people come out to support, not only does the money support local, but all the vendors are typically small businesses, home makers, those pieces. And so this year, we had about 170 vendors,” said Addie Trettel, President of Junior League Duluth. “It’s kind of a ripple effect. The vendors get supported. Our local community gets supported in multiple ways, and then our members get to see that experience that and use the skills and knowledge from that in their personal and professional lives.”

Beyond the shopping and festivities, the event offered community members an accessible way to give back. Each ticket sold, every holiday tree purchased, and food donation contributed to supporting local organizations.

Trettel added, “part of this fundraiser, the money that is raised, we put back out into the community through our community grant process, and those applications just opened up, and so they’ll be open until about mid January for local nonprofits to apply.” “Last year, between this fundraiser and our endowment fund, we were able to fund over $30,000 in local grants.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the League can find additional information on their website.