Minnesotans made nearly 9 million visits to food shelves in 2024 – a record high. The dramatic increase in food shelf visits is fueled by inflation, increased housing costs, and changes to federally funded support programs. High food shelf use indicates that too many Minnesotans are facing hunger and food insecurity.
Gathering information
Much of our data regarding food security in the United States comes from the recently defunded U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) food security assessment tool. This assessment asked households a series of questions about their ability to get enough food to eat. It was a reliable measure for gathering a high-level understanding of food security. However, even when in place, the USDA assessment excluded potentially important contextual information, such as access to and use of resources, when defining a household’s level of food security.
In 2024, Wilder Research began a partnership with Second Harvest Heartland to pilot a new measurement that could go beyond USDA assessment data. To better understand the true scope of food insecurity across Minnesota, Wilder designed and conducted a survey that asked households about their actual use of food aid. The results from that study have provided more detailed information about the sources that many households rely on to have enough food to eat. (Learn more about the Statewide Hunger Study here.)
Statewide, 18% of households rely on one or more types of food aid (such as a food shelf or receiving SNAP benefits) to have enough food for their household, and 5% of households do not have enough food to eat despite using food aid.
Because availability of and access to food aid is not consistent and is likely impacted by changes in state or federal policy, households that rely on food aid still experience a degree of food insecurity. Based on the current landscape of food access, we anticipate that decreasing the amount of or removing food aid will significantly impact a number of these households. Our study results also revealed disparities in who experiences food insecurity, especially around geography, income, race, and primary language spoken at home. These respondents were more likely to report experiencing hunger, concern for getting enough food, and challenges accessing resources.
“Given the current government shutdown, more than 400,000 Minnesotans are now without SNAP dollars, including an estimated 152,000 children.”
Without reliable data about food security, we are missing critical information that informs how services are provided and how policymakers determine resource needs. These data also support our understanding of progress over time – in other words, whether the need for food aid is increasing or decreasing.
What’s next?
Wilder is currently working on its second annual Statewide Hunger Survey and will be releasing results for 2025 in January 2026, along with year-over-year comparison data. Our team is also completing a hunger study with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to gather this information about the neighbors in their service area.
About the Author
Sera Kinoglu is a research scientist at Wilder Research. She conducts research, evaluation, and community engagement with a variety of organizations and government agencies, focusing on food and environmental justice. If you’re interested in learning more about this work, or about gathering data for a specific region, reach out to Sera at [email protected].
