Minnesotans Visited Food Shelves 1.5 Million Times

Proposed House of Representatives vote to cut essential programs, like SNAP, could devastate millions.

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the latest statistics from Hunger Solutions , Minnesotans made 1,487,810 visits to Minnesota food shelves between January and June 2017.  At this pace, Minnesota will record approximately 3 million food shelf visits this year -- a number comparable with food shelf usage rates during the aftermath of the recession.   

Hunger Solutions Executive Director Colleen Moriarty said, “This is particularly troubling given the fact that the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a budget resolution this week that includes $5.7 trillion in cuts to essential programs.” She explained that tax cut resolution proposes a $150 billion cut in funding to SNAP alone.

“If passed, the burden would shift to already-stressed state budgets, which would likely reduce the amount of help available to our neighbors in need,” she said. “The effects will be devastating for the millions of Americans –and 476,000 Minnesotans -- who participate in SNAP. “

Despite a recovering economy and a significantly lower unemployment rate, the latest data indicates food shelf visits are not declining. “The federal budget landscape is bleak right now when it comes to federal safety net programs,” Moriarty said. “But there is absolutely no way that our charitable food system, already operating at peak capacity, would have any ability to absorb the food needs of individuals kicked off the SNAP program from these proposed cuts.” 

Hunger Solutions has set up an easy link on its website for people interested in contacting their representatives to tell them to oppose the budget resolution and the cuts to the SNAP program: http://bit.ly/2gcGzTx . For more information on Hunger Solutions, go to hungersolutions.org.  

About Hunger Solutions Minnesota

Hunger Solutions Minnesota works to end hunger via the Minnesota Food HelpLine and by advancing fair public nutrition policies on behalf of hungry Minnesotans. We connect Minnesota’s food shelves with funding and technical assistance to support 9,000 daily food shelf visits across the state. Our work is made possible through the generous support of donors across the country, each sharing our commitment to ensuring no Minnesotan will struggle with food insecurity alone.

CONTACT: Gary Young/612-247-8123 gary@garyyoungink.com