Origins:
In 2022, Schnucks began its support of Operation Food Search’s (OFS) St. Louis MetroMarket program. St. Louis MetroMarket is a mobile grocery store that travels to areas with limited access to fresh, healthy food. MetroMarket’s innovative approach uses a customer model to empower the community to shop at significantly lower prices than retail grocers. Fresh, affordable produce has been carefully selected from local farm partners and is brought directly to partner sites in the community.
Contribution:
Schnucks donated $15,000 to Operation Food Search to help the nonprofit organization’s MetroMarket get fresh produce to underserved areas of St. Louis. MetroMarket, a mobile grocery store that brings healthy and affordable food to St. Louis food desert communities. Schnucks’ donation was used by OFS to distribute 2,000, $5 fresh produce vouchers to members and patients of four area organizations (500 vouchers to each) that can then be redeemed at the MetroMarket mobile grocer. An additional $5,000 enabled the MetroMarket to make five weekend flex stops at additional community sites. Schnucks also provided volunteers who packed produce for two MetroMarket events .
Objectives:
The objective of the program is to simply work with our long-time community partner, Operation Food Search, to strengthen our communities by fighting food insecurity and hunger. Schnucks' partnership with OFS goes back more than 40 years, and in that time, Schnucks has donated more than $185 million worth of food to support the non-profit organization and its partner food pantries. Fifty-three percent of all food donated to OFS is donated by Schnucks, making us the organization’s largest contributor.
Impact:
At the stops sponsored by Schnucks, MetroMarket was able to serve 6,120 individuals who took home a total of 12,240 pounds of fresh food.
Quote:
“At Schnucks, we feel it’s our obligation to support our communities by helping to fight food insecurity and hunger in the regions we serve, and our biggest partner in this endeavor is Operation Food Search. We are also committed to making sure those most in need have fresh, nutritious sustenance for themselves and their families.”
- Schnucks Chairman and CEO Todd Schnuck
Support Statement:
“This most recent contribution from Schnuck Markets shows how our partnership continues to evolve. Schnucks not only supports our legacy programs that help meet the immediate need for food, but they also strengthen our innovative programs, such as St. Louis MetroMarket. These vouchers will empower shoppers with little access to fresh produce to purchase greater amounts of healthy food at our mobile market.”
- Operation Food Search President and CEO Kristen Wild
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