One in 5 families with children in the metro struggle to put food on the table. Since 2000, food shelves have experienced a 125% increase in usage. Greater Twin Cities United Way invests $5 million annually on hunger relief. Currently, 26 hunger programs (55 sites) are receiving multi-year grants including food shelves, on-site meal programs and food banks.

United Way has strategically looked at the emergency food system to determine how to meet the growing hunger need in the metro. In addition to United Way partnership with hunger relief organizations, we strategically partner with the government, food corporations, faith community, public health and the agricultural.

In 2006, United Way gathered leaders of hunger relief agencies in our community to examine the emergency food system and discuss improvements. This group became the Twin Cities Hunger Initiative. It’s now implementing a strategic plan to end hunger our community. Collectively, as a hunger relief network we have been able to increase the amount of nutritious food in the emergency food system by over 40% and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, aka food support) usage by 50%.

Service Providers Collaborate to Address Increase in Suburban Poverty

Reposted from Community Dividend, The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Suburban communities in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region now have nearly as many impoverished residents as the central cities, and local assistance organizations are modifying their approaches in response to the change.

The food shelf at Community Emergency Assistance Programs (CEAP) is big. With a storage capacity of 6,000 square feet and ceilings reaching 13 feet high, the room, which is part of the emergency service organization’s newly constructed and recently opened Northwest Family Service Center in Hennepin County, Minn., can accommodate enough food to feed thousands of people. READ MORE