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WHERE TO GET FOOD HELP
Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
The program provides low-income seniors with coupons that can be exchanged for eligible foods at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture programs.
The mission of Loaves & Fishes is to provide nutritious meals to the hungry of the Twin City Metro area in an atmosphere of hospitality at site locations where the need is greatest and develops joint ventures/partnerships with like-minded organizations to assist guests with additional basic needs and to becoming self-sufficient.
Meals on Wheels delivers hot, meals over the lunch hour Monday through Friday to homebound, elderly and disabled individuals. These meals are delivered through over 50 local programs by volunteers delivery drivers.
The Food Support (Food Stamps) program is a county-run, federal program that helps Minnesotans with low incomes get the food that’s needed for sound nutrition and well-balanced meals. The program issues electronic food support benefits that can help stretch your household food budget.
You may also apply for Expedited Food Support which makes benefits available quickly to households unable to meet their food needs. If you are eligible, benefits will be issued within 24 hours of your interview. Contact your county for more information.
The Minnesota Food Assistance Program (MFAP) was created by the Minnesota Legislature in response to federal law changes, which made certain noncitizens ineligible for federally funded Food Support. MFAP uses state funds to replace the benefits lost when federal Food Support eligibility ends. MFAP is only available to noncitizens 50 years of age or older. Apply for MFAP as you would for Food Support at your county offices.
Do I qualify for Food Stamps or other benefits? Find out here.
Many programs exist to help families with financial challenges. Many times people do not know they qualify for these programs, or do not know how to apply. Bridge to Benefits can help.
Fare For All — Stretch Your Food Budget. Big savings every month on fresh, high quality, nutritious groceries – that’s what Fare For All, EFN’s largest supplemental food program, is all about!
Store To Door® (supported by the efforts of over 400 volunteers) shops for and delivers groceries to approximately 500 households a week. We serve over 1,000 adults who are unable to shop for themselves. We partner with five strategically-located Cub Foods stores to deliver competitively-priced, quality product to our customers.
Free Food for children in the Summer
While learning does not end when school lets out, neither does the need for good nutrition. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is good, nutritious food that’s “in” when school is “out.” It was created to ensure that children in low-income areas could continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations, when they do not have access to school lunch or breakfast.
Lunch and Breakfast Assistance in School
Households that have already been approved for the following public assistance programs can complete an Application for Educational Benefits with case number(s) instead of household income information:
- Food Stamps,
- Minnesota Family Investment Plan (MFIP),
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).
Children who have already been approved for these programs may also be “directly certified” for free school meals, without an Application for Educational Benefits, based on data supplied to the Minnesota Department of Education from the Minnesota Department of Human Services as authorized by federal and state law for this purpose.
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program
WIC is a nutrition program that helps eligible pregnant women, new mothers, babies and young children eat well, learn about nutrition, and stay healthy.
WIC provides nutrition education and counseling, nutritious foods, and referrals to health and other social services.
CSFP Program
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides a 35-pound box of nutritious food each month to income-eligible pregnant and post-partum women and children up to the age of six through the Mothers and Children Program (MAC) and to low income seniors 60 years and older through the Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS).
Program participants are given one of seven highly nutritious food packages, depending on their age and nutritional needs as determined by the USDA. Eligible clients may register for the Supplemental Food Program through Second Harvest Heartland. Satellite distribution centers are located at more than 150 sites throughout the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.
For additional information about the Supplement Food Programs, please call 651.484.8241 or toll free at 800.365.0270.