Urge the Minnesota Legislature to Invest in Food Shelves!

As a leader of an organization in your district on the front lines of addressing hunger in Minnesota, I want to ask you to recognize the essential role food shelves play in addressing hunger in Minnesota and fight to make sure food shelves are supported in the state's final Health and Human Services bill at a minimum of $4 million for the biennium for the Minnesota Food Shelf Program. This program is critical now more than ever, as food shelves face record demand.

Currently, 487 food shelves, mobile units, and tribal programs across Minnesota rely on state support to provide consistent access to food. These programs are a critical safety net, and their role in strengthening communities cannot be overstated.

In 2024, Minnesotans made nearly 9 million visits to food shelves – a record for the fourth consecutive year. This surging demand reflects persistently high food prices and economic hardship across all 87 counties, impacting both rural and urban areas alike (food shelf visits increased by an average of 18.4% statewide).

Adding to this pressure, federal challenges are directly impacting our ability to serve. Approximately 30% of USDA-purchased commodities allocated to Minnesota have been eliminated. This means food shelves will enter 2025 with record-high demand and 30% less free food available.

Furthermore, significant threats to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) place even more strain on food shelves. For every meal a food shelf provides, SNAP provides nine, making it an indispensable lifeline. As federal resources shrink, we must strengthen state support for local food shelves, as they cannot bear the burden of these cuts alone.

Investing in food shelves is a direct investment in the resilience and well-being of our state. A reduction in funding at this critical time would severely limit our capacity to serve those who depend on us. We strongly urge you to champion the fight against hunger by ensuring robust funding for the emergency food system remains a top priority in your budget discussions.

Together, we can build a future where no Minnesotan faces food insecurity.

Thank you for your leadership and dedication to this crucial issue.