BAXTER, Minn. - Employees at the Baxter office of the Minnesota Department of Transportation organized a silent auction fund raiser and raised a total of $1,310 for the Salvation Army Brainerd Lakes Area food shelf.

Employees recognized a growing need in the community and tied their efforts to March’s Minnesota Food Share Month. Bob Nibbe, event coordinator, said employees wanted to assist the community by raising money for the local food shelf.

"Employees were very generous with their donation of auction items and in their bids for items, " Nibbe said. He went on to explain that many of the employees were out plowing snow during the recent storm and were helping with flood efforts in Fargo/Moorhead, so there were fewer employees than usual available to participate.

Every dollar collected equals a pound of food. And, each dollar or pound of food will be matched nearly one-to-one by Minnesota Food Share.

"The response has been just great. MnDOT employees were extremely generous and we had fun in the process," Nibbe said.