New Report: Food Shelves No Longer Just Emergency Option for Growing Number of Families with Children in Duluth Region

For Immediate Release
March 07, 2006

New Hunger Solutions Minnesota Report Finds 114 Percent Increase in Food Shelf and Meal Program Usage in Duluth and Northern Minnesota.

Duluth, MN – The use of food shelves and on-site meal programs in Duluth region far out-stripped the rest of the state, according to a new report from Hunger Solutions Minnesota released today. The report, based on surveys of thousands of Minnesotans who used food shelves and on-site meal programs to feed their families in 2005, found that compared to 2000, the number of families using these programs grew by 114 percent in the Duluth region. By contrast, usage was up only 45 percent state-wide.

“Far too many people in Duluth and across Minnesota who once considered food shelves and food kitchens an emergency option now consider them essential for sustaining their families,” said Colleen Moriarty, Director of Hunger Solutions. “Unaffordable housing, high heating costs, and the significant underutilization of food support have contributed to a large increase in the amount of families turning to food shelves and on-sites to get by.”

The report, entitled “The State of Hunger in Minnesota” found that while the average hourly wage of Duluth food shelf clients has increased 15 percent in the past five years, a 22 percent increase in the cost of housing has left families struggling to pay the bills. The result is far more Duluth families relying on food shelves and on-site feeding programs to get by.

Visits to on-sites, or “soup kitchens,” has nearly doubled since 2000, increasing from 5 visits a month to 10 visits per month in 2005. Similarly, the number of times individuals have sought groceries from food shelves has increased from 5 to 6 annual visits in the same period. Despite the increased need, fewer than half of those eligible for food support (formerly known as food stamps) are utilizing it.

Childhood hunger is on the rise in Duluth and in Northern Minnesota. The number of households that reported having cut the size of meals because of lack of food nearly doubled, from 15 percent to 29 percent in 2005. Children in seventeen percent of households had to skip meals entirely, up from just ten percent five years ago.

Policies recommended in HSM Report

“The State of Hunger in Minnesota” report contains several initiatives to ensure that Duluth and Northland Minnesota families don’t go hungry. These include increasing the number of enrollees in the food support program, increasing affordable housing, and promoting the earned income tax credit for low income individuals. It also urges that communities work with school districts to ensure that all low income children and their families have access to public programs.

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Contact:
Emily Belland, Hunger Solutions Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN (651) 486-9860 × 14
Email: ebelland@hungersolutions.org