Once considered a stopgap, food shelves are now an integral part of how many households in Minnesota get their monthly food needs met. Increased food prices and decreased SNAP benefits are driving the rising need for help, as shown in a new report by The Food Group in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Family.
Amid soaring food prices and the end of pandemic-era benefits, Minnesotans made nearly 9 million visits to food shelves in 2024, that’s 1.4 million more visits than 2023, a new record.
Access to healthy food is an issue of racial justice.
Commonly called food deserts, many communities are cut off from nutritious, high-quality food. These communities may not have access to a local grocery store or transportation to get there. In other cases, food access was disrupted by development projects cutting through historically Black neighborhoods.
“There's all sorts of research that shows when you look at neighborhoods that have the exact same income per capita, neighborhoods with more Black folks have fewer grocery stores. That's just the fact,” said Sophia Lenarz-Coy, Executive Director at The Food Group. “So we think a lot in terms of how to support food shelves in neighborhoods that have been historically disinvested. How do we make sure that there's good quality, culturally connected foods that feel familiar to folks when they come to a food shelf?”
Threats to food assistance and ways to help
On top of a growing demand for food assistance, hunger relief advocates must navigate threats to funding. Current proposals for a federal budget reconciliation bill include significant cuts targeted at food assistance programs like SNAP.
“For every one meal that is distributed by food shelves and food banks in our state, SNAP provides nine,” said Sophia. “So the kind of scale and scope of support that SNAP provides to low income households is super important.”
Minnesotans saw a sharp decrease in SNAP benefits in March 2023 when pandemic-related emergency allotments ended. Amid the federal uncertainty, hunger advocates are pressing state lawmakers to step up funding.
"This network of amazing nonprofits in so many communities is already at capacity," said Sophia. " You can see from the numbers that it has expanded and expanded and expanded. It really is not designed to expand to the point where it could offset the damage done by cuts."
While food shelf visits continue to rise statewide, Sophia says the good news is they aren’t rising as quickly as 2022 and 2023. She attributes that to Minnesota food shelves expanding their services and hours and also policy wins, like the state child income tax credit and universal free school meals, which are making a meaningful difference for families experiencing hunger.
And then there's individual steps you can take.
“Food has this amazing power to connect people and build community,” said Sophia. “ There are 487 amazing food shelves in our state. They all need volunteers. You probably know some folks who might be struggling to make ends meet. You can invite them over for dinner or show up for the folks you love with food. That's what keeps us connected and together and human.”
Need Food Now?
Try the Hunger Solutions interactive map for food access locations or call the Minnesota Food HelpLine at 1-888-711-1151.
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