Hope in Action: A “How To” on St. John Vianney's Outreach Through the Hope Shop

In the heart of Fairmont, Minnesota, a humble ministry is radiating Christ’s love through practical charity. St. John Vianney Parish has opened its doors—not just the doors of the church, but of its heart—to serve neighbors in need through the Hope Shop, a volunteer-run initiative rooted in compassion and dignity. 

Open two days each week, the Hope Shop offers free food, clothing, diapers, and household goods to individuals and families facing economic hardship. What began as a small outreach effort has blossomed into a vital lifeline for many in the Fairmont area. 

📊 812 households served in the past year 

📊 35 volunteer hours per week 

The spirit of the Hope Shop is both welcoming and respectful. Guests are greeted with warmth and encouraged to choose items that meet their personal and household needs—restoring a sense of agency that is often lost in times of crisis. 

“Guests are able to come for food once per month but can come as often as they like for clothing or other household items.” ~Angela Schultz, St. John Vianney Parish Secretary  

So, how does St. John Vianney’s parish do it? Angela Schultz, Parish Secretary and Angie Nagel, Founder of Hope Shop, shared some great advice with us. 

The Challenge 

Martin County, MN has a 13.7% poverty rate, placing it among the highest poverty rate counties in the state of MN. There is a broad spread of socioeconomic situations, including a high rate of immigration locally.  

Advice to Start Your Own Shop of Hope 

• Get Inspired & Research 

• Set Firm Hours 

• Good, Reliable Volunteers 

• Set Boundaries 

• First Floor Location 

"First, get really inspired. See what the need is.”  

St. John Vianney parishioners researched the area need and sought to understand what current services were available.  

"First, get really inspired.  See what the need is.  Find out what your county poverty rate is – you will likely be surprised. Talk to other service groups in the area, pregnancy centers, MVAC, St. Vincent de Pauls, things like that. They will tell you about the people who sleep in the park, or sleep in their cars when most of the community has no idea you have a homeless problem. If someone in your church works at Human Services, see what they can tell you about the number of people who are on SNAP or rely on other benefits to make ends meet.  A lot of times these statistics and stories are eye-openers. Get inspired, and then go!” Angie Nagel, Founder of The Hope Shop advised. 

Set Firm Hours 

“At first our Hope Shop was always open and whenever someone came into the parish center, a staff member would stop what they were doing and take the person into the Hope Shop.  That doesn’t work – a person with interruptions doesn’t get things done.  If people know that you are open during “these hours,” they will come then.  Perhaps consider having two separate times, a daytime and an evening, once things really get moving,” Angie continued sharing her advice. 

Good, Reliable Volunteers 

No good program can succeed without an effective team. But this program didn’t have unlimited funds to hire. Instead, St. John Vianney sought reliable volunteers to spread out the effort and make it manageable. Angie explained, “Have GOOD, RELIABLE volunteers.  Otherwise the responsibility falls to one person and it can easily be overwhelming.” 

Set Boundaries 

While St. John Vianney did set out to change the world, they couldn’t change the entire world! “Set boundaries,” Angie advised. “It’s amazing how word spreads.  Our boundaries include the two counties our cluster of parishes are in. If you don’t have boundaries from where people can come to be customers – people from all over will come (seriously, it happens) and you will not be able to keep enough food in stock,” she continued. 

First Floor Location 

“And finally, a HUGE one for us that we wish for more than anything we could change: have it on the first floor! Our Hope Shop in in the basement and that creates a ton of work hauling groceries and clothing/household donations in, but also for our customers who are sometimes disabled, elderly, or otherwise have mobility issues. Having a first-floor Hope Shop is a dream of ours, for both our volunteers and our guests!” Angie explained. 

More Logistics Straight from St. John Vianney 

Guests are able to come for food once per month but can come as often as they like for clothing or other household items. We do not distribute food by pounds, rather each guest is able to take a certain number of cereals, cans of vegetables, fruits, fresh potatoes, fresh meat, etc.   

Some of our food is donated by parishioners, they will see items on sale at the store and buy things for us. People will also bring in produce from their gardens.  

By and large, though, the funding comes in cash from our parishioners. We have an envelope in our envelope packets every other month for The Hope Shop, and people are very generous in donating through that. Occasionally we will get donations from organizations like the Martin County Pork Producers who want to support area food shelves. 

All together it takes up to 35 volunteer hours per week to make The Hope Shop work.  That includes  

• grocery shopping  

• stocking shelves 

• sorting donations 

• working with the guests who come in.   

All of these workers are volunteers; nobody is paid. As far as church staff goes, they spend time carrying down donations that come in during the week (often heavy, and donors may be older folks who don’t want to navigate the steps), making copies of paperwork, flyers or signage, and just taking phone calls and other communications related to the Hope Shop.  That is usually just an hour or two a week. 

Hope in Action 

The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota celebrates this beautiful embodiment of Catholic social teaching—particularly the preferential option for the poor. Hope Shop is more than a place to pick up essentials; it’s a place where human dignity is honored, mercy is extended, and the Gospel is quietly but powerfully proclaimed. 

We look forward to walking alongside more parishes exploring creative ways to meet their communities’ needs. St. John Vianney reminds us that when we respond to hunger, hardship, and hope with open hands and hearts, Christ multiplies every offering.

As an Apostolate, the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota seeks to share the stories of Southern Minnesota so that other parishes, churches, schools, cemeteries and Catholic organizations may learn from one another and share God's love and Word.