Keystone Foodmobile II goes on the Road

The Keystone Community Services annual fundraising event in September, Keys to Success, hoped to raise about $ 75,000 to put a second mobile food shelf on the road. That would go a long way toward buying and retrofitting a new truck (with a generator, shelving, refrigerator, freezer, lighting, etc.) that will cost up to $ 90,000.
Ongoing expenses for the Foodmobile including salary and wages for the program manager, fuel, insurance, food costs, program supplies, etc. come to about $120,000 annually. This investment allows Keystone to do 29 distributions each month, at community locations throughout St. Paul and Roseville. The focus is on offering distributions at health clinics, senior hi-rise buildings, schools, colleges and other places where there is higher need and limited access.
Keystone, the largest provider of basic needs services in Ramsey County, helps address food insecurity in the metro by serving more than 26,000 people annually at two food shelf sites, free farmer’s market events, and through the organization’s mobile food shelf — Keystone’s Foodmobile.
Mary McKeown, President and CEO of Keystone, said the Foodmobile has been a vital resource for reaching individuals within Keystone’s service area who struggle to access more traditional food shelf services.
“We know there are many low-income elderly people with transportation and mobility barriers, and low-income families and college students who will benefit from expanded mobile food shelf services,” she said.
In 2014, Keystone’s community of donors who attended the first Keys to Success event raised enough money to purchase and retrofit the organization’s first mobile food shelf truck. “We need to do it again as the need for a mobile food shelf option has grown significantly. A larger Foodmobile will help support more families and seniors in Roseville and St. Paul who have limited public transportation options,” said McKeown.
There are many factors that can cause an increase in food insecurity in our community, such as a lack of affordable housing and an aging population:
In May 2019, Keystone provided food shelf services to 8,792 households. The need currently outpaces the capacity of the organization’s single Foodmobile. However, with funds raised from this year’s event and other donors, a second larger mobile food shelf will soon hit the streets.
To find out more about how you can support Keystone’s Foodmobile services directly visit keystoneservices.org.