U Mobile Pantry
In addition to Nutritious U Food Pantry, the University of Minnesota is partnering with Keystone Services to host a mobile food shelf on the St. Paul campus at the Commonwealth Terrace Coop!
The first mobile food shelf event will be this week Thursday, Nov. 12th from 12-2pm at the seasonal CTC parking lot (directly across Commonwealth Ave from lot SC 101, near Ward 1)
This mobile food shelf will be available to any University of Minnesota student and their families once a month on the second Thursday of every month from 12-2pm. Students do not need to sign up in advance. Students will receive a variety of fresh produce, meat and dairy products, household items, and canned goods for free.
Upcoming Dates - Mobile Pantry at CTC:
- Thursday, November 12th, 12-2pm
- Thursday, December 10th, 12-2pm
- Thursday, January 14th, 12-2pm
- Thursday, February 11th, 12-2pm
- Thursday, March 11th, 12-2pm
- Thursday, April 8th, 12-2pm
- Thursday, May 13th, 12-2pm
Additional Mobile Pantry Info
This is a partnership with the Nutritious U Food Pantry. The mobile food shelf is a service provided by a local food pantry, Keystone Services. So they are providing the food and funding the program. Nutritious U is coordinating the activity, advertising to food insecure students, volunteering to help distribute the food, and helping the program run smoothly. The event will be available for the public - nobody would be turned away or asked to prove that they are students or anything.
Because the University is partnering with an outside organization, there will be an intake form that the student will be asked to complete during their first visit specifically for reporting purposes, such as asking about their income and residence in Minnesota (even if you are international or have a permanent address elsewhere, if you are living in Minnesota at the time they visit the pantry, that counts as residence) and basic demographics. This is totally optional -- students will have the option to not respond if they don't want to share that information. This information is collected so that Keystone can track how many people they are serving and for funding purposes.