Providing food to homeless persons and those in need is an important part of the mission of Gateway Homeless Services.  In addition to providing three meals daily to women and children in the shelter, Gateway also provides food to those in need in our community.  The rise in food prices is being felt acutely by poor families on food stamps, the federal food assistance program. Costs for staples have risen and a growing number of families, including many who are struggling in this economy are using the food stamp program.

Gateway Homeless Services has provided food support to poor and homeless people in a variety of ways. We provide three meals a day to residents of the shelter. In addition, local congregations and other organizations help the shelter to provide brown bag lunches to persons who come by the shelter daily for food support. In this manner, Gateway serves over 130,000 meals each year.

Through the shelter's pantry, groceries which include $80 to $100/dollars in food support to an individual are delivered on a monthly basis to seniors in the Jackson Arms. Poor families are not going hungry - thanks in large part to the region's strong network of soup kitchens and food pantries, including those at Gateway - but in order to cope, many families are doing without the basics.

Families supplement their food stamps with once-a-month trips to food pantries like Gateway. They give up red meat and cut back on buying fresh fruits and vegetables, sticking instead with canned vegetables and fruit.

Many poor Missourians identify themselves as "food insecure," meaning that they were worried about being able to buy enough food to keep their families adequately fed. City and County officials are concerned that the high jobless rate and struggling economy has caused that number to increase significantly.

Gateway has new warehouse space on the 3900 block of Park just west of Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. This space will have good access to Highways 44 and 40 and will provide Gateway with 3500 square feet of warehouse space for food and other in-kind donations. In addition, the shelter hopes to build walk in refrigeration in that space. This warehouse which is a first floor space includes ample dock access for better and more efficient movement of donated food.

Currently, the shelter seeks donations and volunteer support to prepare this new space for expansion of food services. The need continues to grow.

Gateway Homeless Services will work to expand its efforts to meet this need. We require your support as we move forward. Your gifts will allow us to lease and prepare larger and more efficient warehouse space, build walk in refrigeration to gain greater access to perishable foods including fruits and vegetables, and develop a more efficient process of receiving and delivering food to those in need.

If you have any questions about this effort, please contact Martin Rafanan at Gateway, 314-231-1515 x12 or cell 314-258-0452 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .