Shopper input guides dozens of decisions at the White Bear Area Food Shelf — from whether shoppers can take one gallon of milk or two, to larger moves like opening a Community Market for in-person shopping.
“We’re a conduit to serve and support our neighbors,” said the site’s Food Systems Coordinator Megan Kysylyczyn. “If we aren’t helping folks who are visiting us, why are we doing what we’re doing?”
Gathering feedback, she said, ultimately means less food waste and more food on tables. Shoppers go home with food they’ll actually use instead of items that sit in a cupboard until they spoil.
The food shelf draws on the Minnesota Food Shelf Survey, for which FFEN is a lead implementing partner, to track what foods matter most to shoppers. The 2025 survey collected input from nearly 10,000 shoppers statewide and identified fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, dairy and eggs as top priorities.
As the food shelf weighed how best to serve its community, leaders reached out to FFEN. FFEN joined the food shelf staff retreat and discussed the importance of gathering shopper feedback, sharing guidance on running focus groups with shoppers and stakeholders. The site was receiving a lot of food rescue – food that grocery and convenience stores can no longer sell but is still safe to eat – and leaders wanted input on how to handle it, since it’s highly variable and perishable.
Two and a half years ago, they opened the Community Market. Shoppers now choose between an in-person, grocery store-like experience there or curbside pickup from a second location. A year in, leaders surveyed shoppers again and Kysylyczyn said they’re constantly looking for lower-lift ways to keep gathering input.
“It helps us think about where we want to spend our money when it comes to food,” she said.
Knowing shoppers want more produce and dairy, the site is now thinking ahead to next fiscal year and weighing whether to diversify food vendors or increase the food budget.
Feedback has also shaped which challenges get tackled first. Shoppers at the Community Market were lining up hours before doors opened, and wait-time complaints piled up.
“Tensions were high, and we didn’t have staff capacity to oversee the line,” Kysylyczyn said.
In response, the site rolled out an electronic check-in system – an online virtual line that gives shoppers the flexibility to choose their own waiting location. It isn’t perfect, she said, but it lets people queue without standing on site.
Staying open to feedback, even when it’s hard to hear, builds trust, she said:
“People feel comfortable enough to share these things with us… we’ve made a lot of inroads with different communities over the last six months.”
That trust mattered during Operation Metro Surge, when fear kept families away. Over time, she said, they’ve grown comfortable enough to start coming back.
The work hasn’t stayed inside White Bear’s walls. In July, Kysylyczyn presented at one of FFEN’s Sustain & Nourish sessions, sharing her process and lessons learned with food shelf leaders from across the network.
With support from FFEN the food shelf:
- Established focus groups and welcomed shoppers to have more say in what they take home to their families.
- Designed a food shelf experience that puts shoppers first.
- Prioritized fresh produce, protein, dairy, and eggs, foods that are most important to shoppers.
