Minnesota’s food shelves are set to get a funding boost amid surging demand stemming from the ongoing government shutdown.
Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday announced millions in emergency funding to fight food insecurity in the state.
“We’re using our contingency accounts to add $4 million to the food banks across Minnesota,” Walz said. “This will be a bridge. I want to be very clear, it will not make up and backfill everything that is going to drop off starting on Saturday. We do not have that capacity.”
More than 440,000 Minnesotans will lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits on Saturday without a solution to the shutdown. The state’s food banks are bracing for an increased need for their services, even as they struggle to meet the existing need. The Food Group, a Minnesota nonprofit, said visits to food shelves in the state rose 18% between 2023 and 2024.
The Trump administration has said it will not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep SNAP benefits flowing. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
Walz accused the Trump administration of prioritizing a new White House ballroom over funding food assistance. He also called on Congress to get the government running again.
“The solution to this is, one, end the shutdown and go back to work,” Walz said. “Two, quit scapegoating people who are hungry and making up stories that are not true and do your job.”
The shutdown began Oct. 1 and is now the second-longest on record.
WCCO Staff
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