MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The holidays may be a busy time for food shelves, but demand has been high all year.
"We're setting historic numbers in terms of the number of families coming to us today and it hasn't slowed down since summer and it continues to go through the ceiling," said Dan Narr, executive director of ICA Food Shelf.
According to Narr, they've seen a 35% increase in families coming forward in need of resources.
Narr said they are also seeing a lot of people using their programs for the first time.
ICA Food Shelf serves the communities of Hopkins, Minnetonka, Excelsior, Shorewood, Deephaven, Greenwood and Woodland. Along with food assistance, they offer financial and employment help to families in the western suburbs.
"Because of transportation costs, fuel prices, grocery prices have increased dramatically. Rent has really had a big factor in terms of people stretching their resources to the point of not being able to afford their rent," Narr said. "We're seeing a record number of people adjusting their requirements so that they can put food on the table."
ICA Food Shelf held a turkey distribution last Saturday. In total for Thanksgiving, they expect to serve over 1,000 turkeys and meals.
Narr said they are in need of monetary donations and volunteers.
"I've been in this field for a long time and this really has been a historic year," said Stuart Iseminger, manager of food programs at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center.
On Monday at NorthPoint's Community Food Shelf in north Minneapolis, Iseminger said they served 90 households. That's compared to the 50-60 families they serve on a typical day.
"In 2020 and 2021 we had a great deal of support from the state and the federal government for COVID-related programs and those supports are gone for food shelves," Iseminger said.
According to Iseminger, they are spending 20% more on food but getting a whole lot less.
On top of inflation, there are supply chain issues.
There was a period of time when they didn't have peanut butter, now they don't have eggs.
"We had to make the unfortunate decision to cut back on what we give out to our folks just so that we can make sure that we have enough for everybody. Last year we served about 800 to 900 families per month. Recently, we're feeding more than 1,100 per month," Iseminger said.
The amount of seniors NorthPoint serves has doubled and they're also seeing an increase in new immigrant and refugee families in need of support.
NorthPoint is in need of monetary donations, as well as peanut butter and jelly.
"Times are tougher than ever right now," said Allison O'Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland.
Monday morning, Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan visited Second Harvest Heartland's food bank in Brooklyn Park to highlight efforts to combat hunger ahead of the holiday season.
O'Toole said they've had to buy more food than ever before.
"We've distributed more pounds of food in several days throughout the summer than the height of the pandemic. We're buying more milk than we've had to. The price of milk for us is up 30%," O'Toole said.
According to O'Toole, food shelves across the state have seen about a 30% increase in demand this year.
O'Toole said they plan to advocate for funding programs, like universal free school meals, in the next legislative session.
She added, "We can't keep up and that's why we need to come to the table in a different way."
Those in need of help can visit Hunger Solutions to find resources near them.
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