Big savings every month on fresh, high quality, nutritious groceries – that’s what Fare For All, EFN’s largest supplemental food program, is all about!
As food prices continue to rise, more Minnesotans are experiencing significant difficulties affording basic expenses each month. Fare For All is open to anyone who wants to save money on their groceries. Participants (Fare For All is great for seniors, working families, individuals who are both employed and unemployed, or individuals on fixed incomes) have the opportunity to save 40-50% off their monthly food budgets and access fresh fruits and veggies, frozen meats of all kinds, and a variety of non-perishable staple items.
EFN makes this program possible by utilizing its bulk-purchasing power to buy high quality food at prices up to 50% below retail and pass the savings directly on to participants. The more participants that sign up each month, the bigger the savings EFN is able to achieve on their behalf!
Participating in Fare For All is simple. Participants register and prepay for their food packages either at a local distribution site or through the Fare For All main office. Packages are distributed once a month, generally the third Saturday of the month, at distribution sites in communities across the state.
Managed by EFN staff, the Fare For All program is vitally supported by an army-sized group of dedicated, passionate volunteers who both sort and pack the food at EFN’s warehouse and also distribute it to participants at the distribution sites each month. Volunteerism is at the heart of the Fare For All program -- program participants are asked to pursue 2 hours of volunteer work independently each month they participate in the program. Fare For All is committed to the idea of people working together to improve their neighborhoods. By encouraging volunteerism, Fare For all plays a part in helping to build stronger communities.
The Fare For All Program currently provides food packages to approximately 85 distribution sites. In 2006, more than 20,000 households purchased 28,415 food packages through the Fare For All program. These households, as a whole, realized a phenomenal savings of nearly half a million dollars while purchasing high quality groceries. Fare For All participants also volunteered 150,000 hours in their communities. Fare For All helps keep local communities healthy by encouraging volunteerism and enabling individuals to purchase high quality essential groceries at a great savings!
Anyone who is interested in reducing his or her monthly food expenses qualifies for this program! For more information on how to participate in the Fare For All Program, call 763-450-3880 or if you are outside the metro area, call 1-800-582-4291.