by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
A unique grocery buying experience awaits area residents once a month at Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Joseph. Fare For All, a non-traditional way to get your groceries, buys fresh produce and frozen meat in bulk from wholesalers and manufacturers, which are then placed by volunteers into convenient packaging, which ranges in price from $10-$25. Fare For All has a warehouse in the Twin Cities, and it travels to various locations monthly. St. Joseph is the only city Fare For All visits in the tri-county area.
On Sept. 15, Fare For All was at Resurrection Lutheran Church from 4-6 p.m. Residents from across the area came to St. Joseph to see what was on special this month.
“I like the produce, it’s so fresh,” said Janel Heinen of Holdingford. Heinen has been coming to Fare For All since March of this year, when the program first came to St. Joseph. All of Fare For All’s food is purchased through wholesalers, manufacturers, or growers, according to their website. The food, depending on the season, is either locally grown or sent from all over the country.
Most government and emergency food assistance programs serve only low-income families, so Fare For All serves as a good resource both for those families and for families and individuals who don’t meet certain income requirements. It helps families stretch their food budget and access nutritious foods that tend to be more expensive.
Packages of meat are frozen before their freeze-by-date, and much of it is individually packaged.
“They’re very convenient products,” Heinen commented while filling out her purchase ticket.
When entering a Fare For All site, everyone is given a purchasing ticket to fill out, indicating which packages of food the party would like to purchase, and the cost of each. There is no need to register in advance, and all people are welcome. After the ticket is filled out, shoppers head to the register to pay. After paying, a volunteer takes the ticket and picks up the food indicated while the shopper waits. Once the cart is filled with the desired items, that same friendly volunteer will help pack the groceries into the shoppers’ vehicle.
Natalia Gall volunteered at September’s Fare For All. She is a senior at the College of St. Benedict and a member of the AKS service sorority. Gall helped Carissa Hopkins-Hoel, a St. Cloud resident, with her groceries. Carissa heard about Fare for All from some of her co-workers this summer, and has come to every Fare For All since.
Many of the volunteers are either local college students from CSB/SJU or St. Cloud State University, or community members from St. Joseph and surrounding areas. Roger Linn and Maralynn Roles, both St. Joseph residents, were on hand at the front desk of Resurrection Lutheran, helping people fill out their purchasing tickets and explaining which foods were in each package.
“It’s really important for people to know anyone can come here; the more the merrier,” Roles said. The organization’s website builds on that idea, saying the more people who participate in Fare For All, the more purchasing power the program has, which means greater savings will be passed onto the customers.
Roles’s daughter-in-law, Amanda Roles, is one of the co-site leaders for the St. Joseph site.
“We want everyone to come in…even if someone doesn’t need to stretch their food budget,” Amands said. “If they come in and buy anyway they help Fare For All build their budget, which helps people who are on a limited income stretch their budget.”
Amanda has been involved in Fare For All since well before it first came to St. Joseph in March.
“I was doing a lot of leg work and research, so I stayed on as a co-site leader,” she said in a Newsleader interview. “It’s a huge community effort.”
Volunteers spend countless hours before, during and after the event each month.
Fare For All will be at Resurrection Lutheran Church a few more Mondays before the end of the year: Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, all from 4-6 p.m. Fare For All accepts cash, credit, debit and EBT cards. Interested individuals can contact Fare For All by phone at 763-450-3880, by email at info@fareforall.org or by visiting them online at fareforall.org.
photo by Logan Gruber
These volunteers from area colleges helped shoppers put groceries into their carts, and load them into their cars Monday evening. From left to right are Meghan Moran, Ashley Ayers, Evan Guffey, Katie Budin and Madelin Lomauro. Moran is a St. Cloud State University senior, and found out about “Fare for All” by interning with the United Way. Ayers is a junior at the College of St. Benedict, and serves with the AKS sorority. Guffey is a senior nursing major at St. John’s University. Budin and Lomauro are both juniors at CSB, serving with AKS.
photo by Logan Gruber
Natalia Gall (left) helps Carissa Hopkins of St. Cloud load groceries into her car at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Hopkins heard about “Fare for All” from a co-worker this summer, and has been coming ever since. Gall is a senior at the College of St. Benedict, and is volunteering through the AKS sorority.
photo by Logan Gruber
Volunteers help take groceries out for those who purchased food at Resurrection Lutheran Church during this months “Fare for All.”
photo by Logan Gruber
This was the scene on Sept. 15 at Resurrection Lutheran Church, as St. Cloud area residents came to this month’s “Fare for All.” The first event was held in March of this year.
photo by Logan Gruber
This was the scene on Sept. 15 at Resurrection Lutheran Church, as St. Cloud area residents came to this month’s “Fare for All.” The first event was held in March of this year.
photo by Logan Gruber
Janel Heinen of Holdingford filled out her shopping list at Resurrection Lutheran Church, before handing the list off to a volunteer who would fill a cart for her and help her load it into her car.
contributed image
Fare For All’s logo.
