But hunger demands continues to rise
For hundreds of thousands of Minnesota school kids, a nutritious breakfast is now a staple as they head to class each morning. In its first full year, Minnesota’s universal free meals program served more than 150 million breakfasts and lunches—representing a sharp increase over previous years when students were required to pay for food at school.
“I am proud to be celebrating the first year of our free school meals program,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said on Oct. 23 while serving breakfast to students at Oak View Elementary in Maple Grove. “When our kids are fed, they are better able to focus, learn, and tackle their busy days. By providing free breakfast and lunch at school, we’re nurturing our children, saving families thousands of dollars, investing in the long-term future of Minnesota, and creating the best state in the country for kids.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Education, the number of school lunches served during the 2023-24 school year increased by 13.6 million meals—15%—compared to the same period in 2022–2023. School breakfasts increased by 13.8 million meals over the previous school year, a 40% increase. The program is estimated to save Minnesota families about $1,000 annually per student.
Gov. Tim Walz signed Free School Meals for Kids into law in March 2023 to ensure no student goes hungry, to lower family costs, and to remove the stigma from the cafeteria for kids who couldn’t afford to eat. The legislation allows students to get breakfast and lunch at no cost at schools participating in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program.
All public school districts in Minnesota participate in the program, as do 167 charter schools and 163 private schools or residential childcare institutions. Paired with this summer’s inaugural Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, Minnesota kids are nourished year-round at no cost.
Despite the program’s success, food shelves across the state still are stretched to their limits to meet the demand of hungry Minnesotans.
“Overall, hunger rates continue to rise,” says Zach Rodvold, director of public affairs with Second Harvest Heartland, one of the nation’s largest food banks that distributes more than 100 million pounds of food to community food shelves, meal distribution sites, and emergency grocery pop-ups across 57 Minnesota and Western Wisconsin counties.
“Once we get the final numbers for 2024, it will once again be the hungriest year on record, for the third year in a row,” he adds. “Programs like universal school meals is how we address this—and it yields benefits. But it isn’t enough to reverse the trend line of families facing food insecurity.”
Minnesotans visited food shelves a record 7.5 million times in 2023. The number of food shelf visits has hit new highs in each of the past three years. With inflation, the nonprofit Feeding America estimates the average cost of a single meal in Minnesota is now $4.23.
“The need is great and will continue to be great until we find a solution,” says Sherri Green, director of programs with Sabathani Community Center, which opened its food distribution center in 1976 and now serves about 55,000 annually, or about 120 people a day. “Back then is nothing to where we are now.”
A coalition of hunger-relief organizations, community food shelves, businesses and policymakers announced in January “Make Hunger History,” an initiative to cut hunger in half by 2030.
Food Group Executive Director Sophia Lenarz-Coy notes that ending food insecurity in Minnesota will require a patchwork of policy changes and on-the-ground services. Food Group, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit, has worked for food justice and equity for more than 45 years.
“Answers don’t come quickly. And one answer isn’t the total solution,” Lenarz-Coy says. “We have to keep working. We have to keep chipping away and keep finding the next possible solution.”
Universal free school meals were a decade in the making, with community organizations like Food Group leading the way for policy changes to address Minnesota’s persistent food insecurity problem.
“There is tremendous pressure on the food shelf system in Minnesota. The goal is always to find ways to relieve that pressure,” Lenarz-Coy says. “We have seen less dramatic increases than last year. The trends aren’t going in the right direction yet, but we’re not seeing such dramatic increases as in years past.
“The thing that keeps me in this work is that there are ways to make incremental changes,” she adds. “There’s a tangible way people who show up to volunteer really do make a difference.”
If you or your family are in need of food assistance, the nonprofit Hunger Solutions offers a list of community food shelves on its website. Go to hungersolutions.org and click on FIND HELP to locate community resources near you.
Cynthia Moothart welcomes reader responses to cmoothart@spokesman-recorder.com.