State puts millions into food access

Today, more Minnesotans than ever are relying on their local food shelves to stay fed and healthy.

With so many reaching for the same canned goods and table staples, the food banks that supply the shelves are struggling to keep up with demand. To restock those shelves, the Senate Health and Human Services Finance Committee proposed $10 million in statewide funding for food banks be included in this session’s finance bill, which passed off the floor Tuesday.

Food banks are community-based organizations that partner with local grocers, farmers, donors and volunteers to deliver food assistance to food shelves. The food bank that serves the entire Arrowhead Region, including Itasca County, is Second Harvest Northland based in Duluth, Minn.

Second Harvest Northland partners with national and regional retailers (like Walmart, Sam’s Club and SuperOne Foods) to procure food and rescue millions of pounds of food waste annually. Through these partnerships, Second Harvest is able to source and distribute groceries at prices below what Minnesota families pay at big-box retailers. The food bank distributes the donated and purchased product to agency and community organizations such as food shelves, on-site meal programs, and tribal organizations and programs such as Nutrition for Seniors, School Pantry and BackPack programs throughout 15 counties in NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin.

“With the high cost of living impacting working families and seniors on a fixed income, we’ve seen food shelf use increase dramatically,” commented Second Harvest Northland President/CEO Shaye Moris. “This support will ensure that every NE Minnesota neighbor will have the food they need to thrive.”

While Moris says the funding would come at a critical moment for Northland families, she did not disclose how much would be allotted to the Arrowhead Region for food assistance programs. High grocery prices and federal changes to SNAP benefits are at the root of the increase in food shelf use, say agencies like Second Harvest Northland.

Second Harvest Northland became the sole food bank to serve the Arrowhead Region last summer when it absorbed the operations of Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, which had previously shared space with the Grand Rapids Food Shelf at a warehouse in La Prairie, Minn. The merger of the two food banks would result in annual savings and efficiencies of about $300,000, reported Second Harvest Northland last July.

There are five food banks that serve the state of Minnesota. These include Second Harvest Northland based in Duluth, Second Harvest Heartland in Brooklyn Park, North Country Food Bank, Inc., in East Grand Forks, Channel One Regional Food Bank in Rochester, and Great Plains food Bank in Fargo.

Follow us for more on food insecurity in Minnesota and what Itasca County groups and organizations are doing in response.