Group brings groceries to seniors in need; Store to Door looking to expand nonprofit delivery service in Washington County
By ANDREW WALLMEYER
awallmeyer@acnpapers.com
(Created: Monday, May 4, 2009 2:41 PM CDT)
Looking to help more homebound seniors eat well and live independently, Store to Door is expanding its unique grocery delivery service in Washington County.
Last week, the St. Paul-based nonprofit met with a handful of St. Croix Valley social service organizations in an attempt to spread the word about its program, which Store to Door officials said currently serves about 20 people in the area but could serve many more.
"There are a lot of people out there who live on their own but for whatever reason find it difficult to get to the grocery store to get the things they need," said Molly Kennedy Lageson, Store to Door volunteer coordinator. "We have some customers in Washington County already - in Stillwater, Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Mahtomedi - but we found that a lot of people just don't know about our services. We want to make sure that they do, so when there comes a time when they need us, they know we're here."
With that in mind, Lageson spoke with representatives from HSI, Washington County, St. Mary's Catholic Church of Stillwater, Rockpoint Church of Lake Elmo, New Life Church of Woodbury and Synergy Home Care at the Stillwater Senior Center to tell them more about Store to Door and how they can get individuals enrolled in the program.
Jeremy Misener, who oversees HSI's Meals on Wheels program, said he sees Store to Door as an ally that has the potential to help people with the 16 meals a week his group doesn't provide.
"They really complement everything we're doing, in some ways allowing us to help clients more holistically," he said. "We provide the one meal day, which comes over the noon hour ready to eat, but there are obviously several other meals that our clients are hopefully eating ... and many of our clients just aren't able to get to the grocery store. For them, this would definitely help."
Flyers advertising Store to Door have already gone out to the county's roughly 300 Meals on Wheels recipients; approximately 170 are served out of the program's Boutwells Landing headquarters.
Ann Newlander, of St. Mary's Point, said she sees Store to Door as a valuable addition to the existing network of resources available to local seniors.
"It's a wonderful service for people who can't get out and do their own grocery shopping," she said. "I know that the situation will come up. ... At some point, we will have elderly parishioners who will need this, and it will be good to have someone to be able to refer them to."
When potential clients contact Store to Door, the group assesses their need for its services and their ability to place the phone orders on which it is based.
Once they are enrolled in the program, clients receive a phone call every other week from a volunteer who takes their order and enters it into Store to Door's online system. Two days later, a team of volunteers heads to one of five Twin Cities Cub Foods stores to fulfill the orders, which are then delivered directly to clients by Store to Door employees at a specified time.
Upon delivery, clients present any coupons they have, purchase the food and pay a delivery fee ranging from $0 to $15, depending on their financial means.
Lageson said the majority of the program's 1,300 clients pay nothing or $3, adding that the company recently started accepting EBT (food stamps) in addition to checks and credit cards.
"This is not a commercial operation - we're doing this to address a very real need," Lageson said. "We've been growing steadily, especially in the last three years, and we're at a great point right now where we can reach out to more people. That's exactly what we're trying to do."
For more information on Store to Door, visit www.storetodoor.org or call 651-642-1892.