Voices from the
Mobile Food Shelf
We are excited to share the stories of these participants, elevating people and programs that are often made invisible to the wider world.
About the Mobile Food Shelf
Our food shelves provide over a million pounds of food yearly to Hennepin County residents.
By bringing fresh food directly to 45 low-income apartment buildings across Hennepin County, the High Rise Mobile Food Shelf ensures that those without transportation to a grocery store or brick-and-mortar food banks still have access to nutritional support.
Our food shelves deliver food to over 3,800 participants, primarily older adults and people with disabilities.
As well as helping people access culturally specific and nutritional food - over 40% of the food we deliver is fresh fruits and vegetables! - these food shelves help build community. Each building coordinates their own food shelf, relying on the help of participants.
With leftovers from the food shelf, many buildings cook group meals, providing skill-sharing and a healthy meal for residents.
“If we were to lose this program, it would really hurt us. How are we going to get anywhere? A lot of us don’t have any transportation. You can always call Metro Mobility, but how long will they wait for you to get a bag of food and return? So, this is very important for us. We would be devastated if we lost it.” - Ronnie, Holmes Park Apartments
“You eat with your eyes. You eat with your eyes first. If it don’t look good, you ain’t gonna eat it. And lots of colors. You can only eat so many carbohydrates. And so much pizza.” - Pat, Kingsley Commons
“There’s so many people that go to bed hungry and they shouldn’t. So when they come, and they can get all the produce and milk, eggs, bread, meat - they can get everything they need and sustain them. I mean it. That’s why I do it - to know that they’re getting what they need.” - Nancy, Seward Tower East
“Very few people today that know the basics. And it makes cooking so much easier if you know what it should look like, and feel like, and tastes like. All the difference in the world.” - Lois, Bassett Creek Commons
“Most of the residents here are pretty savvy about knowing what’s good or what’s better to have than the other things. They tend to get excited when they see we’ve got all of these greens, all of these vegetables.” - John, Seward Tower East
About the Artist
Nancy Musinguzi (they/them) is a documentary photographer, teaching artist and freelance photojournalist working and living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a documentary photographer chronicling the contemporary American experience through a first-generation Black Immigrant Queer lens, they primarily focus on emerging musicians, artists, performers, community organizers, educators, and other cultural and creative practitioners from the Black Trans-Atlantic Diaspora. Their artist practice consists of blending traditional and experimental approaches to portraiture that captures the authentic experiences of BIPOC & LGBTQ folks with dignity, attentiveness and patience.
Artist Website: www.nmusinguzi.com