The food shelves are reporting statistics from the March FoodShare Drive. For some, the drive went very well, for others, donations were down significantly. They cited that donors are being asked to give from so many areas of need, that the money is being distributed is a great deal less.

Here are some current hunger facts in the state of MN.

• There were more than 1.7 million visits to Minnesota’s food shelves in 2004. 36 million pounds of food were distributed.
• 2005 looks to increase these numbers.
• More than half of the hungry who visit food shelves are children. Hungry kids have difficulty learning.
• More than 50 percent of adult food shelf clients are working, and they still can’t make it.
• As program cuts continue, for most, the food shelf is the only available help.
• There are more than 300 food shelves in Minnesota, serving every county in the state.

Sources: MN FoodShare: Working but Still Hungry (2000); survey of food shelves and quarterly food shelf reports 2005.

Hunger Solutions Minnesota has a detailed program on how to run a food/fund drive on this website. MN FoodShare has a program as well on their website.