Latest news with #SecondHarvestHeartland
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ag budget includes funding to replace canceled federal grants, but food banks say it cuts assistance
Soybean production in Worthington. Photo by. When the Trump administration cut funding for a program that gave food banks money to buy and distribute food from local farmers, Minnesota lawmakers decided to continue the program at the state level. The two-year, $115 million state agriculture budget has been approved by the House and Senate and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Tim Walz, and sets up a modest state program to replace the one cut by the federal government. But Second Harvest Heartland, the biggest hunger relief organization in the state, says the budget still partially defunds the Farm to Food Shelf program, which allowed Second Harvest to purchase excess produce from Minnesota farmers at a steep discount. (The budget boosts funding for a related program for dairy.) Rep. Fue Lee, DFL-Minneapolis, carried a bill to create a state program that mirrors the endangered federal Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Schools, food banks, governments and businesses can apply for grants to purchase food from Minnesota farmers and distribute it for free. Grant recipients must purchase 70% of the food from small farms — those that bring in less than $100,000 per year — or from farmers who rent their land. Lee's bill ended up in the budget, with $1.4 million over two years directed to the Local Food Purchasing Assistance grant program — around half as much as the federal government gave to Minnesota last year for the program. Minnesota Farmers Union, Land Stewardship Project and Minnesota Farmers Market Association were among the bill's supporters. Zach Rodvold, a lobbyist for Second Harvest Heartland, said the net effect of the budget is a cut in overall food assistance — on top of other federal cuts to food aid, as well as proposed cuts to SNAP, which helps low-income people buy groceries. 'What they voted for was a cut that will cost almost 4 million pounds of produce every year indefinitely,' Rodvold said. That's partly because the dollars that went to the Farm to Food Shelf program stretched farther — the food banks were paying pennies on the dollar for produce that farmers didn't intend to sell in traditional markets. The new state program, called the Local Food Purchasing Assistance grant program, pays farmers the market price for their produce. The Local Food Purchasing Assistance grant program will also allow recipients to contract with farmers for future production, creating a secure market for small Minnesota farmers.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How could so many people in the world's richest nation be without enough to eat?
Photo by Grace Aigner for Minnesota Reformer. After I retired I started volunteering at a local food shelf called VEAP. VEAP — Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People — is one of the largest food pantries in Minnesota. Last year it provided over 4.6 million pounds of food to over 250,000 Minnesotans. Almost the entire operation is driven by volunteers: scheduling appointments, sorting donations, and running pantry operations to provide food to customers. There are almost 500 food shelves across Minnesota, some large like VEAP, and many much smaller. Most depend heavily on volunteers and donations. Food shelves are supported by larger organizations called food banks — like Second Harvest Heartland and The Food Group. Food banks partner with grocery retailers, manufactures and farmers to source and warehouse food that they distribute to food shelves in communities across the state. They also depend on donations and volunteers. This is a remarkable system, a credit to the people that put time, energy and money into building and maintaining it. But right now, it is strained by an incredible increase in demand. Reliance on food shelves has skyrocketed since the pandemic. The number of people seeking help at VEAP has more than doubled since 2020. According to the Food Group, that reflects the same trend across the entire state. In 2024, Minnesotans made 9 million visits to food shelves. Food inflation is certainly one driver. And the end of pandemic emergency SNAP benefits in 2023 took away a primary support — a loss of $100 a month for the average family. A study by Second Harvest Heartland, in partnership with Wilder Research, found that 1 in 5 Minnesotans are 'food insecure,' meaning they don't have access to the food they need, usually because they can't afford it. This includes 26% of families with children and 40% of households of color. The study also found that food aid — food shelves and/or SNAP benefits — helped more than half of food insecure Minnesotans have enough food to eat. That's great; we know that we can make a difference for hungry families. But it is hard to read this and not ask: How can there be people without enough food in the richest country in the world? And be reminded that this is a question we have been asking for decades. The development of a broad network of food banks and food shelves started to expand rapidly around 1980. By one account, 80% of the food shelves in the U.S. in 2001 had opened since 1980. Why did our nation suddenly need so many food shelves after 1980? Certainly, the economy was a factor, as late 1970s stagflation gave way to a deep recession in the early 1980s. But it was also the year Ronald Reagan was elected president and changed the course of American social policy. With the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, the U.S. moved toward a more progressive approach to social policy. The highlight of this period was Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. Even Richard Nixon proposed a guaranteed family income and universal health coverage (although neither was enacted). Reagan stopped this progress, cutting public assistance and food stamps and other social services. Progress on advancing social policy has been bumpy ever since. The 'Reagan Revolution' had successfully sold the idea that government was the problem. Forty-five years later, in our current moment, we can certainly recognize how deeply this message has sunk into the American psyche and how it continues to drive policy debates. And so, once again, federal funding to fight hunger is vulnerable to cuts. The federal government has long provided funding to states to support emergency food. It's not a lot of money but has provided a base for the emergency system. Two funding sources have already been cut, a loss of $6.7 million in food intended for Minnesota food banks. More critically, of course, is SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. Congress is poised to cut over $200 billion from SNAP over the next 10 years. Cutting SNAP at this level would require reducing benefits to families or cutting people completely off SNAP — or some combination of the two. The result will be more hunger. The incredible success of the emergency food system — a mostly non-profit, volunteer-driven sector — is not enough to make up for hundreds of billions of dollars. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try — volunteer, donate, do what you are able to do. But problems of this scope need public policy solutions and investments. In the 1980s, conservatives liked to say that President Lyndon Johnson launched a War on Poverty and poverty won. In fact, by the late 1970s the U.S. poverty rate was half what it was in 1960, before the War on Poverty. To paraphrase Matthew Desmond from his book 'Poverty, by America,' did we lose the war on poverty, or did we just stop fighting? Maybe that's why there are hungry people in the richest country in the world.
CBS News
03-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Study shows the consequences of budget cuts to SNAP in Minnesota
As lawmakers in Washington consider a budget proposal to slash taxes, advocates in Minnesota are warning of the potential for devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands in the state. The non-partisan Food Research and Action Center says more than 458,000 Minnesotans rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to put food on the table. The non-profit says SNAP also offers nine meals to every one that a local pantry can provide. The FRAC study also found that among the Minnesota households relying on SNAP benefits: 45% are with children 49% are with a person with a disability 35% have older adults in them 10,989 veterans rely on SNAP The CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, Allison O'Toole, says she fears the impact of potential SNAP cuts during the budget talks in Washington. "We've seen food insecurity rates skyrocket in the last 4 years. We're at an all-time high right now," said O'Toole. "We are in a hunger crisis already. If these proposals are enacted, it'll be catastrophic." To do her part, O'Toole is flying to Washington, D.C. this week to meet with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and the House Committee on Agriculture to advocate for hunger relief policy. "I'm making a special trip [on Monday] because it's a critical time," said O'Toole. While cuts are not official yet, O'Toole hopes people will give money, food donations or service hours to Minnesota food shelves to prepare for what's a possibility. "This is a solvable issue and if there's one state that can do it, it is ours. We just need everyone to join forces to make sure we can do it," said O'Toole.
CBS News
26-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
More Minnesotans turned to food shelves in 2024 than ever before
Last year proved to be a record year for food insecurity in Minnesota, as food shelves set record highs for visits statewide. Minnesotans made nearly 9 million trips to food shelves, according to The Food Group, a statewide agency that announced its report Wednesday. The 9 million visits are up 1.4 million from 2023 and are nearly 2.5 times higher than pre-pandemic levels set in 2019. Visits are up an average of 18.4% across all counties. "We're in a hunger crisis," Second Harvest Heartland CEO Allison O'Toole said. "This isn't an urban issue, this isn't a rural issue, it's an everywhere issue." O'Toole says a 2024 study found nearly one in five Minnesota households couldn't afford the food they needed. In Minnetonka, the issue is the same at ICA Food Shelf, which services about 1,800 families each month. "We have just seen the food flying off the shelves right now," Erin Wiedenman, ICA's Food Shelf Specialist, said. "When I first started a few years ago, we were booking out like four-to-five days for appointments, now it's close to two weeks pretty consistently." Wiedenman and O'Toole both point to the rising costs for groceries — which the Food Group study reports increased by an average of 28% per trip. "People's grocery bills have gone up that it's just not affordable for people," Wiedenman said. "I honestly believe anyone could need (help) at any time — that's why we're here. We're here to help anyone that needs help at any time — that could be any one of us." spending cuts Tuesday. "These cuts and these proposals worry me. I hope that they worry everyone," O'Toole said. "The policies put in place, if there are cuts to those, it just turns a crisis into a catastrophe."
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New study: 20% of MN households are food insecure
The Brief Study shows 1 in 5 Minnesota households are food insecure. Second Harvest Heartland conducts its first-ever statewide hunger study. BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - New data shows a sobering reality for hunger in the state of Minnesota. One in five households are experiencing food insecurity. Second Harvest Heartland said this is the first time it has ever conducted its own statewide hunger study. By the numbers Second Harvest Heartland said organizations rely on federal statistics on hunger relief every 18 months or so to inform strategy, which can often be a delayed reference point. Second Harvest Heartland partnered with Wilder Research to conduct its first ever statewide hunger study. The organization said it wanted to better understand the current state of food insecurity in Minnesota to try to keep up with the growing need. "One of our greatest insights is that one out of five Minnesotans cannot afford the food they need to thrive," said Sarah Moberg, Chief Operations Officer of Second Harvest Heartland. According to the study, 20% of Minnesota households are food insecure, 18% of the state is supported by the emergency food system, and 30% of households in Minnesota are not confident about having enough food in the next year. Second Harvest Heartland said food shelf visits over the last year will set yet another record. Understanding the issues: Second Harvest Heartland said their mission is not just about providing food, they want to grow awareness about the root causes of hunger and affordability. "It could be, do you have transportation to get to a job. It could be the job and the hours and the childcare, all of those pieces have to work together in order for a family to be able to afford the food they need," said Moberg. "Often times, we know if a family has to make a tough choice about what to afford, food is the first thing they pull back on." The organization also points to rising costs as a challenge many of these households face. "Times are tough right now, so the cost of items like childcare, healthcare, housing, energy, all of those have been increasing. They're increasing at a rate that many families are having a hard time keeping up with," said Moberg. "We know it's a really difficult choice right now that many families are having to make." What you can do Learn more here about the organization's goal to cut the number of food insecure households in the state in half by 2030 by clicking here. The Source Second Harvest Heartland, Wilder Research.
