Human Services to Provide Help for the Hungry

(KNSI) – Governor Tim Walz today announced a new outreach campaign for Minnesotans struggling to afford nutritious food for themselves and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials say the pandemic presented challenges to many, so the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced Tuesday it is collaborating with Golden Valley-based General Mills to develop the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Campaign focused on families with children who face increasing food insecurity over the last year.

Hunger Solutions Minnesota executive director Colleen Moriarty says the pandemic hit Minnesota senior citizens especially hard.

“During COVID, if you had a compromising medical condition, or you had transportation issues, that a food shelf was a very good avenue of response for healthy and nutritious food.”

There were more than 3-point-8 million visits to food shelves around the state in 2020. That’s a more than 6-percent increase over 2019. The report showed there was a 31% increase in food shelf visits by seniors.

Elizabeth Koehl, Outreach Director of Prairie Five Community Action, says when COVID shut down meal sites, her agency began calling seniors and offering frozen meals and boxes of food supplies.

“And we were really able to identify the senior hunger in our communities, and really try to tackle some of those barriers that do exist.”

The Catholic Charities Senior Dining Program also had to expand its capacity quickly, nearly tripling what they handed out. From 2019 to 2020, they went from making 26,000 meals per month to over 90,000 meals per month.

In addition to providing pro bono assistance, General Mills partnered with local agencies Martin Williams and Ovative Group to develop a campaign aimed at connecting hungry Minnesotans with SNAP benefits.

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