Solutions Blog

HSM focuses on emerging trend of mobile food shelves

We know that there is a service gap for food insecure Minnesotans that have mobility challenges.  Maybe they cannot drive or do not own a vehicle.  Perhaps they live in a remote area that is miles away from a food shelf.  A few progressive food shelves have begun to meet their hungry neighbors where they are.  With the aging of our population and the ever increasing costs of fuel, we believe that this new model for food shelves is a growing and necessary trend. These programs distribute food directly at subsidized housing complexes or in specific neighborhoods out of refurbished trucks. This distribution model eliminates transportation and mobility barriers.We are actively seeking funding via the Minnesota Legislature and building support through the hunger relief community so this service and grow and expand statewide.

The scope of our new project is to build capacity within the emergency food system by solidifying the mobile food shelf network that is currently forming, and analyzing data to identify areas in high need of mobile food pantry service and helping to find agencies that can effectively provide the service in that community.

We will also provide agencies that are currently considering forming mobile food pantries with tools developed through the network to help develop the programs effectively.  We feel that this will provide tremendous assistance to the emergency food system and will help the system assist many new people in the future.

 

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