Fresh Focus, Smarter Spending:
St. Peter Food Shelf Reimagines Service
When Jodi Donley joined the team at the St. Peter Area Food Shelf, she had a deep understanding of what it meant to walk through those doors—not as a staff member, but as a shopper. Her personal experience shaped her mission, which aligned with the team’s: make the food shelf more welcoming, provide variety, and focus on fresh food.
She started at the food shelf as the board of directors adjusted priorities in order to sustain service at the site. The food shelf had been buoyed by extra food and dollars that were part of COVID supports and without those streams coming in, they needed to make some changes.
With expert insights from FFEN, and a growing commitment to fresh food as they worked toward SuperShelf certification, the food shelf transformed. They decreased their food costs by over 30% while nearly doubling the amount of low-cost produce, protein and dairy they received through their regional food bank.
For Donley, the program coordinator at the food shelf, the Strategic Food Sourcing Analysis Report and Consultation from FFEN was key to making impactful change.
“The FFEN report for me was where it all started,” she said. “That’s when I began to understand what we really needed to work on.”
The report and consultation highlighted a gap in ordering and an opportunity to claim more free and low-cost food from the regional food bank’s first come, first served offerings.
“We weren’t using the tools available to us,” Donley said. “So I started checking the food bank ordering website every day. If it was healthy and free, we claimed it.”
With FFEN’s help, they added a new cooler and received a second grant-funded milk cooler, allowing them to store more perishable items. They fine-tuned their purchasing to focus on produce, meat, and dairy.
Guided by the board, they reduced purchasing of many costly non-food items like personal care products and instead, prioritized spending on food. They began asking churches and community organizations for more targeted drives to bring in the non-food items they were no longer purchasing.
“One of the great things about the FFEN analysis is it gave us real data,” Donley said. “We could actually see where the dollars were going.”
Additionally, they saved costs by phasing out milk and egg vouchers and supplying those items when possible. They used grant funding to bring in culturally-relevant foods like Halal meat, curry paste, and coconut milk.
As they overhauled ordering, the team in St. Peter reimagined the shopping experience. Through the SuperShelf process with University of Minnesota Extension, they learned to focus not only on what they offered, but how. They organized the food shelf by categories and now, fresh produce is front and center, displayed in inviting bins and tables funded through grants.
“It’s always amazing to see the reaction of people when they walk in,” Donley said. “Our shelves and backstock are never empty anymore. It’s just amazing—and everybody sees it.”
Mary Krentz, SuperShelf Design Coordinator with University of Minnesota Extension, worked with the St. Peter Food Shelf on the project which is expected to be certified in July.
“Through a shopper-centered design and strategic layout changes, SuperShelf enhanced the visibility, appeal, and accessibility of fresh produce,” Krentz said. “Fresh paint, updated shelving, and culturally-inclusive signage and images further transformed the space into a warm and dignified environment for shoppers.”
Even while in the midst of the transformation, the food shelf leaders are still looking ahead. Food Shelf Manager Cindy Favre said it’s unclear how federal funding changes will impact them but they’re doing their best to plan strategically.
“We want to be well positioned to have a steady stream of products to meet the needs of our shoppers,” she said.
