Close the Gap documentary
April 6, 2008 - 11:49pm inAn invitation to a premiere of TPT’s “Close the Gap”
We are excited to pass along to you information about this exciting upcoming event: The Itasca Project and Best Buy Children’s Foundation invite you to a premiere of the Twin Cities public television documentary CLOSE THE GAP.
Local food bank receives grant to fight child hunger
March 16, 2008 - 6:02pm inDuluth — Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank announced today that it has received a grant that will be used to feed children throughout northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.
Editorial: Legislature should boost minimum wage
March 3, 2008 - 10:41am inThis state witnessed an 18 percent increase in participation in the taxpayer-funded food stamp program between 2003 and 2007 — years in which the economy was considered healthy.
• During the same years, Minnesota saw a 22 percent increase in participation in the Women-Infants-Children taxpayer-funded food program for those so poor that they are deemed “at nutritional risk.”
Is a low minimum wage really business friendly? Not if it drives up pressure for taxpayer support for the working poor.
Food shelf usage up at area sites
March 3, 2008 - 10:25am inVisits to food shelves in the Iron Range communities of Tower, Ely, Cook and Virginia were up 14 percent in January compared to the same month a year ago, according to Shaye Moris, executive director of the Second Harvest Lakes Food Bank in Duluth which serves area food banks.
“There were 151 households served by those food shelves in January 2007 compared to 174 during the same month this year,” said Moris, adding that the increase is significantly higher than the rest of the region served by the Food Bank. Regionwide, food shelf usage was up four percent in January 2008.
A food bill for those in need
February 25, 2008 - 10:38am inLetter: A food bill for those in need
Vicki Poier,Montevideo, West Central Tribune
Published Saturday, February 23, 2008
The new farm bill is extremely important in meeting the needs of rural people to be self-sufficient, in promoting good stewardship of the land that produces food, and in providing a safety net to meet the nutritional needs of people feeling economic difficulties.
Uninsured children, recipients of food stamps are on the rise
February 13, 2008 - 11:45am inPost-Bulletin, Rochester MN
The number of children living in poverty in this area has increased recently, a trend that child advocates call “disturbing.”
Food Shelves Feeding Minnesotans at Record Rates and Growing
February 13, 2008 - 11:27am inUse of food shelves across Minnesota is “exploding,” according to an advocate for the hungry who has just toured the state to get an update on use and trends in the public food supplies.
Food prices rise and families try to cope
February 5, 2008 - 11:25am inFood prices are rising, along with the cost of fuel. In the case of corn, it looks like there’s a close connection between the two, as the demand for ethanol rises.
Spotlight on Poverty
February 4, 2008 - 1:01pm inInformation about the presidential candidates and their anti-poverty proposals
Five major foundations – led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation — have invited presidential candidates to answer five questions about poverty and opportunity. Find their answers as well as video clips, news clippings and links to other sites at the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity at
It is non-partisan and endorses no candidates. It is a great tool to help those of us who believe poverty unnecessarily drains our economy and our society.Working Minnesotans are worse off than they were seven years ago
January 30, 2008 - 8:04am inThe number of job openings in the state has fallen by 38 percent in the last six and a half years, while the number of unemployed workers has grown 64 percent, said Jacobs of JOBS NOW. “With 133,000 unemployed workers now competing for only 60,000 unfilled jobs, job seekers outnumber unfilled jobs by more than two-to-one.”
