About 1,200 people lined up in Spring Valley, Wis., on Tuesday for 30,000 pounds of surplus food and cleaning supplies distributed by the Hunger Prevention Council of Pierce County. The long line mirrored a deepening trend across the region: People are having trouble keeping food on the table.

Pioneer Press

“I’ve had a Realtor who made $60,000 in 2006. The last three months he made only $4,000 total — in three months. We all know why. There’s no money there anymore, nobody’s buying homes,” Fair said.

MPR

The economy presents the potential for a triple whammy for food shelves.

— High food prices make it more expensive to fill the standard packages of provisions the food shelves provide for the needy.

Soaring food prices have developed into a “global crisis”, according to the U.N.‘s Secretary-General. The World Bank estimates that food prices have increased by 83 percent in the last three years.

MPR

The food versus fuel debate is being waged worldwide. Public Policy institutes, the United Nations and the European Union have all issued reports connecting an increase in biofuels production to rising food prices. The debate hit home on the House floor.

MPR

In its first month of operation, June 1983, North Country Food Bank Inc. took in 33,944 pounds of food (along with a few non-food products) and distributed 10,835 pounds. With new distribution programs recently implemented or soon to kick off, the organization is on target to deliver more than 2.2 million pounds – valued at approximately $1.10 per pound – this year.

Minnesota officials have ordered food shelves to destroy venison that was donated by hunters after lead was found in some of the meat.

St. Paul, Minn. — State officials tested 299 samples of venison donated to food shelves across Minnesota. Seventy-six samples contained lead of varying amounts.

The Fleischman family knows where their food comes from.

Once a week during the summer and fall, the Lake Elmo foursome receives a box bursting with a cornucopia of fresh-off-the-farm produce. They know that their vegetables, fruits and herbs were picked only hours earlier from the fields of La Finca, a family farm about 100 miles north of their home.