Local nonprofit offers
discounted groceries

The Food Group celebrates 50 years of providing affordable food
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | February 2026

If you’re having trouble filling your grocery cart because of rising food prices or other reasons, help is available nearby. A Minnesota nonprofit called The Food Group offers a fast and affordable way to purchase meat, fresh fruit and vegetables for up to 40% off retail cost. The Fare for All program is available to everyone in the region and the savings are significant. For example, for just $35 you can get 6-8 frozen meat items, 3-4 fresh vegetables and 2-4 pieces of fresh fruit. Shopping is easy. You simply walk up to a table, place your order and pay, then receive one or more boxes of food. There are no limits on the number of boxes you can buy. The $25 Mega Meat Packs have 6-8 frozen items (chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and/or fish); the $11 Mini Meat Packs have 3-5 frozen items (no pork); and the $10 Produce Packs have 2-3 fresh fruits and 3-4 vegetables. Discounts are also offered on seasonal packs.

The nearest location is at Central Square Community Center, 100 7th Ave. N., South St. Paul, and the next sale is 4-6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17.

The Food Group operates 20 distribution sites in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota under a co-op model. It buys food in bulk from wholesalers, manufacturers and growers, and passes the savings on to the customer. Thus, the more people who shop, the higher the discounts. In addition, volunteers package and distribute the food, saving on labor costs.

The Food Group also operates the Twin Cities Mobile Market, essentially a grocery store on a bus, bringing nutritious, affordable food to more than 25 neighborhoods. It, too, is open to everyone. The bus is stocked with 150 items, including fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, grains and more, and annually serves nearly 10,000 customers in the Twin Cities. Locally, you can find it each Thursday, 10:30-11:30 a.m., at 516 Humboldt Ave. on the West Side. This site has been operating for five years and serves about 50 people each month. Note: the hours are new this year. Both the Mobile Market and Fare for All sites accept credit, debit, EBT or cash payments only, no checks.

A half-century of service
This year marks a milestone for The Food Group: 50 years of service to Minnesotans. The nonprofit was founded in 1976 as the Hennepin County Emergency Food Shelves. The following year it set up shop in the Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis and distributed food to 15 food shelves. The name later changed to Emergency Foodshelf Network and service spread through the Twin Cities metro area. In 1999, Mobile Food Shelf program began for residents of subsidized housing complexes, and in 2002 the Fare for All program started. Two years later, the organzation purchased a 65,000-square-foot warehouse with office space in New Hope, and in 2014 changed its name to The Food Group. A short time later it began taking other programs under its wings. Minnesota Food Association, operator of Big River Farms near Marine on St. Croix, Minn., brought growers into the network in 2017. The Twin City Mobile Market was added in 2020, and four years later Hunger Solutions became a subsidiary.

The organization’s goal is to alleviate hunger by breaking down barriers to receiving nutritious and affordable food. Paying for food is a daily stressor for many people, and in recent years record numbers of Minnesotans visited a food shelf for assistance. Today, the Food Group’s food bank supplies more than 200 food shelves and other hunger-relief agencies. Last year, it distributed 7.6 million pounds of food. Of that, 1.2 million pounds was culturally specific food, 1.5 million pounds was fresh produce, and 2.5 million pounds were locally sourced. The Food Group works with local farmers markets to obtain fresh food direct from local growers, and also operates Big River Farms near Marine on St. Croix, where farmers have access to land, resources and education in organic and sustainable practices. Many of the growers at Big River Farms are immigrants, refugees and people from underrepresented communities. They provide affordable food that’s popular in various cultures.

“As we look at fifty years, we’re proud of our deep community roots and how we’ve evolved over the years to nimbly respond,” said spokesperson Emily Eddy White. “Our roots were in hunger relief and that is still at our core, but we’ve expanded to new solutions. We’re powered by volunteer support, community support and donations.”

For more information about Fare for All and Mobile Market distribution dates, or donating to or volunteering with The Food Group, call 763-450-3860 or visit thefoodgroupmn.org.