Roseville welcomes new food shelf

The mayor of the City of Roseville and leaders of the Greater Twin Cities United Way helped Keystone Community Services formally open its new Roseville Food Shelf on March 3. More than 100 guests attended an open house, representing area churches, civic organizations, local government, donors and volunteers. (Pictured here are (L to R): Keystone president Eric Nyberg; Keystone Basic Needs director Christine Pulver; City of Roseville mayor Dan Roe; and Ben Knoll and Marcia Fink of the Greater Twin Cities United Way.)

Keystone moved the food shelf from its previous Fairview Community site to the new storefront location at 2833 North Hamline Avenue in response to the growing population of low-income families in northern Ramsey County communities. The site is larger, more accessible and offers expanded service hours for families in Roseville, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale and Little Canada.

"At our new Roseville location, we have more than doubled our hours to serve north suburban Ramsey County families," said Christine Pulver, director of Keystone's Basic Needs Program. "We appreciate the support that many area churches and organizations have provided and look forward to working with many more to assure that every family in need can be assisted."

The Greater Twin Cities United Way provided financial support to get the new food shelf launched. "With hunger in the Twin Cities area continuing, the increased demand for help from food shelves has been particularly dramatic in the suburbs," said Marcia Fink, director, Meeting Basic Needs Impact Area, Greater Twin Cities United Way. "The Greater Twin Cites United Way is pleased to be a funder and partner with Keystone Community Services.  We congratulate their leadership for exploring efficient ways to meet the rising needs with a new expanded site that offers greater efficiency and impact."

As a primary provider of emergency food services for the metropolitan areas of St. Paul and suburban Ramsey County, Keystone has responded to an ever-increasing demand for food shelf services.  In fact, since 2006, demand at Keystone's food shelves has escalated by 109%. In 2010, the agency's programs served 72,482 food shelf clients, an increase of 18% over the previous year. (These percentages are duplicated counts reflecting total visits to the food shelves. Many individuals use the service more than once.)

"More and more people are finding it very hard to make ends meet, and they are turning to food shelves in growing numbers in order to feed their families," said Pulver. "Most are employed, but have low-paying jobs that offer few or no benefits and little stability. They are often living paycheck to paycheck and are vulnerable to an unexpected crisis or expense, such as car repair, rent increase, or cutback in work hours. Food shelves have become an essential resource to help these families get through emergency situations and difficult times," she said.