ST. PAUL, MN—(May 18, 2010)— Hunger Solutions Minnesota (HSM) is proud to announce two key wins yesterday at the State Capitol. Governor Pawlenty approved two pieces of legislation that will go a long way to assist struggling Minnesotans access more food.

Beginning November 1, Minnesota will extend Food Support to approximately 70,000 more Minnesotans. We have eliminated the $7,000 asset limit for food support and also raised the gross income test from about $24,000 for a family of three to $30,000. The new measure is 165% of poverty. These policy adjustments are in line with many other states.

This will assist struggling families that are currently not eligible for Food Support, but cannot afford to buy enough groceries because of a job loss. We applaud this change because now families will not have to spend down their savings in order to receive this temporary assistance.

The bill also has the added benefit of capturing an estimated $172 million in federal funds that are left on the table when we do not enroll a higher percentage of eligible people.

The Legislature also approved a $400,000 one-time emergency allocation to food shelves this year. These critical funds will be distributed in July, just in time to help fill the shelves for the busy summer when the demand for emergency food help for children skyrockets. Food shelves can leverage this financial assistance into $2 million in buying power when they acquire groceries from the food banking system.

“This action will make a tremendous difference in this resource-scarce environment”, said Colleen Moriarty, Executive Director of Hunger Solutions Minnesota. “Our elected officials heard from people on the front lines all across the state. They heard loud and clear about the challenges faced by hard working Minnesota families and by the food shelves that meet their hunger needs. We really appreciate the unflagging support of Representative John Benson and Representative Karen Clark. We know they had to make tough budget decisions.”

Hunger is in our midst in Minnesota. In 2009, over 500,000 Minnesotans received 60 million pounds of groceries from a food shelf. There are currently over 420,000 individuals enrolled in Food Support. That represents a 28% increase over 2009.

These new actions will help people like Cynthia. “I am a proud person. But pride gets in the way, and I’m finally learning to let go of that pride,” says Cynthia Milford. It’s a lesson the 50-year-old will never look back on. Putting aside her pride is what has allowed Cynthia to use her food shelf in Golden Valley off and on for the past two years.

She says she only goes when she really needs it, but lately she’s been in need of help more often, going to the food shelf about once a month since the beginning of the year. Cynthia moved back to Minnesota in 2007 after losing her job Canada, and has yet to land a full-time job here. Various part-time and seasonal jobs have gotten her by for the most part, but sometimes they aren’t enough to pay all the bills and put groceries in her kitchen.