Urgent Needs

The following information is updated regularly in response to what we hear from our staff and our participants about their evolving current needs. The following list of volunteer opportunities and needs was updated on 07/30/2025.

Donated Goods

Food Donation Needs

Fruits/veggies: 

  • Canned fruit in 100% juice( pull tab) 
  • Shelf stable fruit cups (no artificial sweeteners) 
  • Dried fruits/veggies with no added sugar  
  • No sodium canned veggies  
  • Shelf stable tomato/veggie pasta sauce  

Whole grains: 

  • Brown/wild rice  
  • Whole grain cereal  
  • Rolled oats/oatmeal/cream of wheat  
  • Granola/cereal bars  
  • Pasta’s  

Protein: 

  • Canned chicken/tuna/salmon in water (pull tab/pouches) 
  • Chick peas  
  • Peanut butter/PB2 
  • Cannellini beans  
  • Black beans 
  • Quinoa  
  • Unsalted/low sodium nuts
  • Jerky (beef/turkey/chicken)

Other items: 

  • Chicken/beef/veggie broth 
  • Cooking Seasonings (dry herbs/spices) 
  • Olive/coconut/avocado oils  
  • Jams/jelly 
  • Peanut/almond/cashew/sunflower butters 
  • Honey  
  • Sugar 
  • Flour 
  • Canned/boxed coconut milk  
  • Protein bars 
  • Formula/baby foods 

Condiments: 

  • Maple syrup 
  • Hot sauce  
  • Mustards  
  • Vinegars (apple cider/balsamic/white) 
  • Low sugar BBQ sauce  
  • Red pasta sauce
  • Miso

South Asian: 

  • Rice 
  • Wheat flour 
  • Oil (Fish/chili sesame/rice vinegar) 
  • Curry paste  
  • Tinned/dry chickpeas 
  • Tinned tomatoes 
  • Dry noodles (rice/pad Thai) 
  • Tinned veggies 
  • Lentils/dals 
  • Tinned fish 
  • Tinned potatoes  
  • Tinned peas 
  • Semolina 
  • Vermicelli 
  • Desiccated coconut 
  • Soybean 
  • Moong bean 
  • Kidney beans 
  • Corn (dry/tinned) 
  • Cooking sauces (fish/Hoisin/teriyaki/peanut/black bean/oyster) 
  • UHT milk (Ultra-pasteurized milk)

African/Caribbean: 

  • Rice  
  • Wheat flour 
  • Oil  
  • Iwisa(super maize meal flour) 
  • White hominy corn(dry/tinned) 
  • Millet 
  • Couscous  
  • UHT milk (Ultra-pasteurized milk) 
  • Garri flour  
  • Semovita (flour) 
  • Plantain flour  
  • Poundo yam 
  • Tinned tomoatoes 
  • Dry noodles 
  • Tinned veggies 
  • Lentils 
  • Tinned fish 
  • Tinned potatoes  
  • Tinned peas 
  • Tinned beans 

Middle eastern: 

  • Rice  
  • Wheat flour/Arabic khobez 
  • Olive oil 
  • Tinned/dry chickpeas 
  • Tinned tomatoes 
  • Pepper paste  
  • Couscous  
  • Tinned veggies 
  • Bulgar (whole wheat kernel) 
  • Fava beans  
  • Tinned fish  
  • Vine leaves( the leaves of the grapevine plant)  
  • Za’ tar(Spice mix) 
  • Tahini paste 
  • Tinned olives  
  • Dry Molokhiyaa (is the leaves of Corchorus olitorius) 
  • UHT milk (Ultra-pasteurized milk)

Hispanic/Latin/Spanish : 

  • Lard (pig fat) 
  • Beans (Frijoles Charros (“Cowboy Beans”), refried, black, dried, pinto) 
  • Dried chiles (ancho, chipotle, guajillo, mulato, pasilla, lentils) 
  • Tortillas (Flour, corn, masa) 
  • Gorditas (Mexican flatbread) 
  • Dried chiles  
  • Canned corn  
  • Rice (white, Mexican, brown, long grain) 
  • Salsa 
  • Corn chips 
  • Spices (allspice, cloves, cumin, garlic, paprika, thyme, coriander, cacao, Mexican vanilla) 
  • Hominy  
  • Pozole 
  • Menudo (Mexican beef tripe soup) 
  • Nopales 

Oils (vegetable, olive, avocado) 

Tomatillos 

Tortilla chips (Corn, flour, wheat) 

Chipotle sauce 

Habanero sauce  

Canned jalapenos (sliced, diced) 

Condensed milk 

Evaporated milk 

Chilorio  

Quince and guava paste  

Chongos zamoranos  

Canned fruit (mango, guava, peaches) 

Capers 

Canned fish (tuna, crabmeat, sardines) 

Canned olives (green, black, green stuffed with pimentos) 

Dried pasta (vermicelli, angel hair, spaghetti, elbow macaroni) 

Vinger (apple, white) 

Current Needs and Amazon Wishlist

Due to limited storage space, we can only accept items listed above. All items must be new, unused and with tags on. Thank you for thinking of Cornerstone.

Please check back for specific items. Last updated January 2026.

Specific items from our Amazon Wish List

$25-50 gift cards to big-box stores and grocery stores (Walmart, Target, etc.) so we can be flexible in meeting the most immediate needs of our participants

How To Donate

Donations may be dropped off at our Bloomington location Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Please email Courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org once you’ve dropped off a donation so that we may record your gift and properly thank you. If you’d like to purchase items online and ship them to us, please use the following shipping address for Cornerstone: 

Cornerstone
Attn: Courtney P.
1000 East 80th Street
Bloomington, MN 55420

Cornerstone CANNOT accept the following items:

Any used or gently-used items

Any items with opened or damaged packaging

Any items purchased more than one year ago

Furniture

Travel-sized / hotel-size personal care items and toiletries

Medications

Perishable food

Volunteer Opportunities

Current Opportunities

There are currently no volunteer opportunities at this time. Please check back or subscribe to our newsletter for updated opportunities.

Financial Gifts

Cornerstone continues to provide critical supportive services to individuals and families in crisis. We need your continued financial support. Please consider making a donation to support victims / survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and general crime at mightycause.com/organization/Cornerstone.


Thank you for asking what volunteer support and donations we need most right now. We are grateful to our community partners who help us meet specific requests from our staff and the people we serve. Together, we can make sure that people experiencing domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and crime have what they need to be safe and feel confident in their next steps.

When people donate to Cornerstone it is so important for them to know that they really are helping a lot of people who need it. I couldn’t have navigated the terrifyingly turbulent storms without Cornerstone.  This organization is invaluable! – past Cornerstone participant.

Support Survivors

Your tax-deductible donations make a real difference to those affected by domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and general crime.

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Mission & Services

Cornerstone’s continuum of service helps to create communities where individuals and families are safe and children thrive. We advocate, educate and lead the way to social change. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the prevalence of domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and general crime.

Learn More

Minnesota Day One®

A statewide program of Cornerstone, Day One® works to ensure that no call for help goes unanswered so that all in need can find safety and support. Day One connects people to experiencing domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking or general crime to help at agencies throughout the state.

Learn more

Call: 1.866.223.1111
Text: 612.399.9995

Please call 911 in an emergency.

Minnesota Crime Victims

Cornerstone’s General Crime Victim Advocacy program assists victims of assault, child abuse, impaired drivers, elder abuse, identity theft, robbery, homicide and other crimes. We also can connect you to crime victim agencies through Minnesota via our statewide Minnesota Crime Victim Support Line.

Learn more

Call: 1.866.385.2699
Text: 612.399.9977

Please call 911 in an emergency.

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