The State of Food in Minnesota

Food or other necessities

by Britta Arendt

Food is often the most flexible line item in a budget when households have competing priorities, say food shelf clients. The 2022 Minnesota Food Shelf Survey looked at responses from 7,014 food shelf visitors statewide. Many participants said they had to choose between spending limited funds on food or other necessities like healthcare, utilities, transportation and housing.

High food prices make it more difficult for Minnesotans to afford nutritious food and other necessities. This increases the risk for food insecurity, particularly among vulnerable populations. Even while inflation has slowed in the past five years, Minnesotans continue to feel the economic impact of the pandemic.

To examine the extent of food insecurity throughout the state, Wilder Research and Second Harvest Heartland have collaborated to gather data about the prevalence of hunger in Minnesota. A report, “The State of Food Security in Minnesota,” was released this March and summarizes findings from 2025, including demographic and regional variations in food security.

The study found that food pantries are the most-used food resource by Minnesotans. Statewide, 1 in 10 households reported receiving food from a pantry in the past year. For households that said they accessed free food sometime in the past year, more than one third did so at least twice a month. And households with children reported visiting pantries at least weekly.

After food pantries, SNAP was used nearly as often, at 9% statewide, according to the report. SNAP is the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), sometimes referred to by its former names, Food Stamps or Food Support. SNAP provides a monthly benefit to low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities and some single adults for purchasing only food.

According to the 2025 statewide study, Northern Minnesota regions, including Second Harvest Northland service area, had higher shares of SNAP usage than other parts of the state.

During March 2026, 3,832 Itasca County residents received SNAP benefits. This is down from a year ago when 3,967 individuals received SNAP. According to DCYF, about 440,000 Minnesotans statewide rely on SNAP each month to afford groceries and stay nourished.

SNAP CHANGES

As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21 or H.R. 1) signed into law July 4, 2025, federal lawmakers approved more than $186 billion in funding cuts to SNAP.

According to the state, this law will reduce food security for seniors, working families and children across Minnesota. H.R. 1 also makes it more difficult for people to get and keep food assistance, says DCYF, by expanding work requirements for adults under age 65 (up from 55) and families with children older than 13 (down from 18 years old). The work requirements are also expanded to veterans, people experiencing homelessness and youth aging out of foster care. In total, almost 18,000 Minnesota adults currently in SNAP will face new work requirements. If they don’t meet the new requirements, their benefits could end after three months.

At the time the bill was approved, Second Harvest Northland was seeing a 30-40% increase in demand at more than 80 food shelves it stocks.

For more information about SNAP or to apply for SNAP benefits, call 1-800-657-3698 or visit the DCYF website at https://dcyf.mn.gov/indivi…/basic-needs/food-and-nutrition