Jacob Morehouse is going shopping.

“Very important, it helps me and my family,” he says. “Tough times and everything.”

But this isn’t a mini-mart, it’s Near Food Shelf.

“The need is huge and it’s not going away,” Thea Bruley, the food shelf’s director, says. “When I started in 2021, we were serving maybe eight clients a day. Now we average 21. That’s how many appointments we have.”

The Crystal nonprofit provides food to 477 clients a month, amounting to about 53,000 pounds of food.

“It brings back dignity for the client,” Bruley explains.

“They can get what they want, rather than what we give them,” adds Kathy Borisevich, a volunteer.

“Without this, I don’t think we would have a lot of food,” Morehouse says. “I think it helps out a lot, these people that are helping us.”

Morehouse and his family aren’t alone.

“This year, we saw over 7½ million visits to food shelves statewide,” notes Sophia Lenarz-Coy, executive director of The Food Group.

That’s nearly 2 million more than the previous year, according to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, which tracks numbers statewide.

From its massive New Hope warehouse, The Food Group supplies millions of meals a year to food shelves, meal programs, and affordable grocery sites in the metro, including Near Food Shelf.

“The need is real, and inflation is real,” Lenarz-Coy says. “Any of us going to the grocery store know how much we pay for groceries now, versus a couple of years ago. It’s just dramatically different. And so, community members stepping up to volunteer, to donate, it’s critical now, more than ever.”

She says the economy, rising food prices and the shutdown of COVID-19 relief programs are all part of the mix.

But now, Lenarz-Coy notes, food shelves are moving away from the model developed in the late ’70s.

“Here’s a bag of food, let’s hope to get you through ’til next month,” she explains.

Instead, many food shelves are trying a grocery store approach, where people can choose the food they want and need.

“Adding food choice and really dignity to the food shelf experience has been a huge focus in Minnesota these past several years,” Lenarz-Coy says.

On March 1, Hunger Food Solutions and The Food Group are planning to merge.

The partnership’s goals include getting resources to provide more food from food shelves, training for farmers’ markets and emerging farmers, and providing fresh, culturally connected food for the community.

“All the programming of both organizations will remain intact,” Lenarz-Coy says. “It’s really just, can we find innovative ways to have the programs inform each other.”

Meanwhile, with the help of a nearly $180,000 state grant, Near Food Shelf plans to renovate its facility and open its shelves to those in need.

Bruley expects the renovations to be done by the fall.

“We’re not saying, ‘Here you go, here’s your cart and that’s your choice. That’s all we can give you,'” she says. “They’ll be able to choose what they want and take what they want.”

Lenarz-Coy says help is available for individuals or families at the Minnesota Food Helpline: 1-888-711-1151.