Fare For All

Earlier this summer I was asked if I would be interested in a gift certificate for Fare For All so that I could learn about it and pass that on to you, my readers. I'm not one to sell out, but at the same time if I can put food on the table (literally!) by writing this blog, then I welcome any offers.

Some friends of ours had volunteered at Fare For All's warehouse earlier this year and had encouraged people to check it out. We actually stopped by once, but we had just stocked up on food, so we didn't purchase anything.

Fare For All is a part of the Emergency Foodshelf Network, but they operate to provide food savings to everyone (no income restrictions). They have many sites around Minnesota--including several in the Twin Cities Metro area. They have several options: Traditional Fare For All (pre-order and pre-pay, pick up once on month usually), Fare For All Express (no need to pre-order, just stop in and pick up what you want on certain days), and their warehouse (open on Mondays).

Fare For All offers several package options:
Regular Pack $17 – The Regular Pack contains 2-3 fresh fruits, 4-5 fresh vegetables and 3-4 frozen meat items.
Meat Only Pack $12 – The Meat Only pack includes a variety of 3-4 meat items such as beef, chicken, fish, or pork.
Light Pack $12 – The Light Pack features 1 non-pork meat items and an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Vegetarian Pack $10 – The Vegetarian pack contains a generous amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, often accompanied by a dry food item such as beans or pasta.
Family Pack $20 – The Family pack contains only non-perishable staple items such as vegetable oil, flour, sugar, canned fruits and vegetables, rice, pasta, and boxed dinners.

We used our gift certificate to get the Regular Pack. Our meat pack included a package of chicken thighs, ground turkey, ham and lunch meat. The produce included potatoes, carrots, lemons, apples, plums, celery, cherry tomatoes and onions. We usually do our grocery shopping at Aldi, but compared to regular grocery stores, these packs provide a good value. It definitely provided us with lot meat we don't normally buy.

The warehouse also offers ala carte options to purchase. We picked up some additional meat at really good prices. They are also well stocked on canned veggies, rice and beans, a variety of produce and other various options. In addition they had several free items available with any purchase (we came home with two loaves of bread, a couple of head of cabbage, a few packages of notebooks and a few other various items.

Fare For All offers definite savings. With all their locations, they're definitely worth checking out.
Visit their website for more information (including locations): Fare For All
They also have a blog with recipes, ocassional coupons and other information (including stories of their many volunteers): Fare For All Blog