THE OPEN DOOR

The Open Door is a nonprofit hunger relief organization that serves all of Dakota County, MN through our mission, “a fresh approach to ending local hunger through access to healthy food”.

The Open Door’s mission and history:
History: The Open Door was founded as a nonprofit organization in 2009 and has grown to provide fresh and healthy food to more than 15,000 low-income residents across Dakota County each month. Through our healthy food focus and innovative programs, we have sought to redefine how our sector approaches hunger relief. We view hunger through a community-health lens, and work to help our clients improve access to nutritious food in an equitable manner.

Organization Description: The Open Door assists food-insecure people each month through our mission: “A fresh approach to ending local hunger through access to healthy food.” Through our collective programs, The Open Door serves more than 14,000 Dakota County residents each month, and distributes over 1 million pounds of food annually, nearly 70% of which is fresh and/or perishable. Clients may access nutritious food options through a fixed-site food pantry in Eagan, 28 Mobile Pantry sites, the Mobile Lunchbox, and the Garden to Table program.

The Mobile Pantry Program provides food support to those who lack reliable transportation. The Mobile Pantry is a critical solution to addressing food insecurity and the most effective way to meet the unique needs of suburban poverty. It is a switch from a “come and get it” model of a bricks and mortar pantry – to going directly to where the food is needed most. To areas where seniors and families who are struggling financially don’t have easy access to a neighborhood grocery stores or reliable transportation that allows them to make use of support services.

The Open Door has the only Mobile Food Pantry in Dakota County, serving sites across Dakota County in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville and Rosemount. They include five schools, five low income neighborhoods, three senior housing complexes, two colleges and two special needs apartment complexes.

Community Served:
For the first time in the history of the United States there are more people living in poverty in the suburbs than in the urban core (Brookings, 2016).

TOD’s efforts are focused on alleviating hunger for low-income individuals and families in Dakota County who are food insecure. Specific at-risk populations targeted are: isolated communities of color, children, seniors, and individuals and families struggling with significant barriers to access healthy foods on a consistent basis.

Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap estimates there are 30,470 food insecure people in Dakota County (7.3% of the total population). Dakota county’s own research sets the minimum standard of living for our community at 253% of the Federal Poverty guidelines (Harder, 2019), suggesting the number of individuals and families experiencing economic distress to be much greater than Feeding America’s estimates. In Dakota County, employees that earn minimum wage need to work 75 hours each week to afford a two-bedroom apartment, and our community leads the state in the number of missed meals among children during the summer months.

In a county as geographically large as Dakota, people who are food insecure may live in areas that lack a full-service grocery store or farmers market. With limited financial resources, the choice becomes obvious – stretch the food budget by purchasing high-calorie foods that are “filling” in order to stave off hunger. Limited, unreliable or lack of transportation creates a barrier that is often perpetuated by the fact that Dakota County lacks connective public transportation within neighborhoods. Buses can take you to downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul, but often cannot take you to the grocery store.

Dakota County is projected to be home to more than half a million people by 2035 (Minnesota State Demographer’s Office). With the projected growth in population, low-wage jobs, and the rising number of seniors, The Open Door anticipates continued increase in the number of individuals in need of access to healthy food.

Seniors are the fastest-growing group of food shelf users statewide and a group that consistently face challenges accessing traditional food shelves which rely on predictable access to transportation. Dakota County has seen a 57% increase in Senior food shelf visits over 2013 (Hunger Solutions Food Shelf Senior Visit Comparison –2013/2017). The Open Door has seen a 40% increase in number of seniors served in 2018 over 2017, with most of that growth stemming from proactive efforts through our Mobile Food Program. The Mobile Pantry currently has a waiting list of senior living facilities requesting food support for their residents. Official projections indicate that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 Dakota County residents will be an older adult, more than doubling the current percent of the total population (12%).