Programs

Food & Basic Needs

One of the largest in Minnesota, VEAP’s Food Pantry provides food to community members to make millions of meals every year.

VEAP provides access to high quality, healthy, and fresh foods for individuals, families, children, and seniors experiencing hunger or food insecurity. Every year, we distribute over 4 million pounds of food (half of which is fresh produce!) to over 100,000 people in our community.

VEAP’s On-site Food Pantry offers a visitor-choice model, meaning when you visit the pantry, you are able to select the food you know your family will use and enjoy. Participants are eligible to visit twice a month. VEAP offers a variety of fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables, an assortment of meats, and dairy, as well as basic food staples, like rice, beans, bread, cereals, and canned products, daily.

Please note that visits to our On-site Food Pantry are scheduled by phone. Call 952.888.9616 to make an appointment. Most appointments are scheduled within one business day of your initial call.

VEAP’s Mobile Food Pantry provides access to fresh vegetables, fruit, dairy, and deli items at several convenient locations and times throughout each month. Open to everyone, you can easily access your basic food essentials plus fresh produce and other healthy foods. See our event calendar for up-to-date site information. Click here to see our distribution areas. Everyone is welcome!

VEAP understands that transportation is often a barrier to visiting us. If you or a family member do not have access to a car or are unable to leave your home for whatever reason, we can deliver food right to your place of residence. We provide at-home food deliveries for community members who cannot easily leave their homes or who may have transportation barriers. When calling to make an appointment, please let our volunteers know that you will need to schedule a food delivery.

Presently suspended.

Not sure how to use up all the fresh fruit and vegetables you get at VEAP? With support from community partners, VEAP facilitates fresh eating cooking classes for pantry participants right in our commercial kitchen. Small group (10-15 individuals) nutrition education and cooking courses. Courses include topics such as recipes, meal planning, shopping on a budget, and healthy food choices. Courses range from one to eight weeks in duration and are typically two hours in length.

This school-year initiative provides food support for youth attending school in the Edina, Richfield and Bloomington School Districts who are likely to go food-insecure during the school day or throughout the weekend. We offer student-friendly foods that include a mix of healthy snacks, breakfast items and ingredients for easy prep meals. VEAP weekend food packs are made with the tastes of students in mind! We also support schools in filling their pantry cupboards. For additional questions, connect with Dave Rannow, VEAP’s Distribution Manager, at 952.955.8309.

 

Do you have a young family member celebrating a birthday? Please let us know when you place your food order. Families with young children celebrating a birthday receive a special birthday party bag, when supplies are available, that generally include cake mix, frosting, party supplies (candles, plates, napkins) and a small party favor (bubbles, crayons, silly putty, etc.).

Social Services

Caring, professional support to individuals, families, children, and seniors experiencing food insecurity, high-risk of eviction or homelessness, and financial crisis.

VEAP provides rent and utility assistance to qualified households in the form of a grant. ​We do not offer loans. There is no expectation that you will pay back any assistance you receive. If eligible, all payments are issued directly to property owners or rental offices. No payments will be issued directly to tenants or family members of tenants. Apply here.

Comprehensive, strengths-based case management and individualized, support. Assistance with safety planning, goal setting, and budgeting.

Designed to help members of our community understand how to access available resources, meet immediate needs, and work toward long-term, achievable solutions. Culturally responsive, on-site and community-based navigation services, and information and referrals to other vital community supports.

VEAP’s office is co-located with Hennepin County; however, we do not share visitor information with the county nor do we receive information from them.