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Mobile Food Pantry Expands Free Food Program at Five Metro Transit Centers This Summer

Metro Transit and the St. Louis Area Foodbank are expanding the free Food on the Move program this summer to help address food insecurity issues near several transit centers in the region. The mobile food pantry will visit five Metro Transit Centers on designated Saturdays starting in July:

• First Saturday of the Month
  10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Rock Road Transit Center (7001 St. Charles Rock Road, Pagedale, MO)
• Second Saturday of the Month
  10 a.m. to Noon | Emerson Park Transit Center (929 N. 15th Street, East St. Louis, IL)
  2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. | Riverview Transit Center (9000 Riverview Drive, St. Louis, MO)
• Third Saturday of the Month
  10 a.m. to Noon | North Hanley Transit Center (4300 Hanley Road, St. Louis, MO)
  2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. | 5^th & Missouri Transit Center (150 N. 6th St., East St. Louis, IL)

The mobile food pantry has been serving the Rock Road Transit Center for more than a year now as part of a pilot program. It will move from the Third Monday of the Month to the Third Tuesday of the Month at the Rock Road Transit Center beginning June 21.

• Third Tuesday of the Month Starting June 21
  3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Rock Road Transit Center (7001 St. Charles Rock Road, Pagedale, MO)

The St. Louis Area Foodbank Food on the Move mobile pantry offers transit riders, area residents, and visitors fresh, healthy food for themselves and their families, free of charge.

“Our Food on the Move program allows us to provide access to nutritious food for those that otherwise might have difficulty accessing it. This program allows us to meet residents where they are on a regular basis and eliminate the transportation barriers that lead to food insecurity,” said Meredith Knopp, President and CEO of St. Louis Area Foodbank. “As a greater number of families struggle to make ends meet due to inflation and rising costs, we are pleased that our continued and expanded partnership with Metro Transit offers much needed resources to transit riders and those in the surrounding communities.”

“Expanding our partnership with the St. Louis Area Foodbank supports our mission to improve the quality of life for citizens in the bi-state region,” said Charles Stewart, Metro Transit Executive Director. “Metro Transit riders and residents living in the food deserts around these five transit centers located in St. Louis County, St. Clair County and the City of St. Louis will have easy access to the mobile food pantry on select Saturdays so they can get free fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods. With inflation driving up food costs and children being out of school for the summer, the free food will help household budgets stretch a little further.”

The Food on the Move mobile pantry is equipped with three refrigerators and can provide fresh and shelf-stable food items. The pantry is accessible by both ramps and stairs. For more information about the Food on The Move program, visit stlfoodbank.org/foodonthemove.

Metro Transit operates the St. Louis region’s main public transportation system, which includes 24 battery electric buses and nearly 400 clean-burning diesel buses that serve 59 MetroBus routes in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois. Metro also operates MetroLink light rail vehicles on 46 miles of track serving 38 stations in the two-state area, and operates Metro Call-A-Ride, a paratransit fleet of 122 vans. Metro Transit is a Bi-State Development enterprise.

Food on the Move is an innovative program developed by the St. Louis Area Foodbank to serve individuals in Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois with limited physical access to nutritious food and resources. In its second year, Food on the Move is focused on serving those in specific zip codes that face transportation barriers and access to food stores. The St. Louis Area Foodbank is committed to providing a pathway to nutritional security for all across their service area through programs like Food on the Move and partnerships with more than 550 agency partners.