New M Health Fairview partnership feeds families in St. Paul’s East Side with traveling food shelf
Food insecurity can have a large impact on one’s overall health, and it’s often more prevalent in communities of color that also face other barriers to healthcare. M Health Fairview is partnering with Keystone Community Services to increase food access by bringing the Foodmobile mobile food shelf service to M Health Fairview Clinic—Roselawn.
Access to nutritious food has one of the biggest impacts on our overall health. More Minnesotans visited food shelves in 2020 than in any year on record. As federal COVID-19 aid ends for low-income families, the need for food is projected to remain high. In addition to facing other barriers to health care, communities of color reported food insecurity at double the rate of white Minnesotans.
As an expansion of ongoing efforts to improve food access, M Health Fairview is partnering with Keystone Community Services to bring culturally relevant ingredients to communities that need them through Foodmobile, a traveling food shelf. Keystone has been operating its Foodmobile program since 2015; today the program offers nearly 30 distributions every month. M Health Fairview and Keystone are partnering to pilot the program at M Health Fairview Clinic—Roselawn, which serves large refugee and immigrant populations, specifically many Karen and Hmong families.
At last month's inaugural event, 209 people from 42 families received food support—double the number of people Keystone had previously served at a single site. Forty-seven families took part in an event on May 5.
Families choose from seasonal produce and goods like eggs, milk, and bread, as well as meat. They also receive a box of nonperishables with a choice of culturally specific items like dried rice, sesame oil, and bamboo shoots.
Offering culturally specific food is important, said M Health Fairview Community Advancement Coordinator Maria Vallejo. “It’s not just ‘Take this because it’s free,’” she said. “It offers the dignity of choice.”
The availability of relevant ingredients, as well as language services provided on-site, highlights the importance of culturally competent care when addressing the social determinants of health.
“This is a good opportunity to listen to the needs of the communities and expand where needed,” Vallejo said.
Family Medicine Physician Robyn Tabibi, MD, has already witnessed the difference the program makes in the lives of Roselawn clinic patients. Tabibi saw a family the week after the first event who faced significant food insecurity and typically receives supplemental food from the clinic. After visiting the Foodmobile, they had enough food at home for the first time in four years.
The hope is for the program to expand to other clinics.
“Having enough food is everything,” said President of Keystone Community Services Mary McKeown. “For a senior, it means they can stay in their home. For families, it means there is food for all meals and that everyone has the nutrition they need to do well at school, work, and home. For many people in our community, their monthly income is not always enough to cover their monthly expenses, especially right now with high food and gas costs. As we expand support in our community, we are honored to partner with M Health Fairview to ensure more people in our community have access to quality, healthy, nutritious food.”
