State News

A looming crisis: Poor and elderly could face desperation in next heating season

hunger — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:06:22 -0500

Just last fall, fuel oil was running about $3 a gallon. While that was painful enough for many, fuel oil is $4.50 a gallon right now and it could hit $5 a gallon or more by this fall if current trends continue. That’s well past a tipping point that will bring real hardship to many in our area, and political leaders in Washington and here in Minnesota need to start planning for it now.

Feeding the children—all summer long

hunger — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:24:56 -0500

Thousands of local students qualify for free or reduced meals during the school year. When summer vacation starts, however, families often struggle to afford three meals a day. That’s why the both Saint Paul Public Schools and Minneapolis Public Schools are once again offering free summer meals as part of the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

Demand is high at St. Cloud area food shelves

hunger — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:52:42 -0500

The area’s largest food shelf has seen a 21 percent increase in business the first five months of the year.

The Catholic Charities Food Shelf served 6,074 households through May. It served 5,025 through the first five months of 2007.

Catholic Charities has surpassed the number of households served the previous year each month this year.

Food Before Fuel

hunger — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:16:47 -0500

Corporate giants in the food, meat and dairy industries — including Minnesota companies General Mills, Hormel Foods and Land O’Lakes — this week launched a national campaign called Food Before Fuel. Its goal: to reverse government policies that have encouraged ethanol production regardless of consequences to the food system.

Long waiting list for public housing gets longer

hunger — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:15:24 -0500

Officials with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority say they expect more than 15,000 people to apply for Section 8 housing vouchers Thursday and Friday. People are applying for the first time in five years, but housing authority officials say there’s little chance anyone applying today will get a voucher this year.

U of M Researcher shows how worldwide food crisis disproportionately hits lower income Americans

hunger — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:56:08 -0500

Recognizing that most of the attention surrounding the worldwide food crisis is focused on the hunger and starvation of foreign countries, a University of Minnesota applied economist has focused her efforts on the crisis’ impact on U.S. households and food consumption.

Minnesota tests find lead in more donated venison

hunger — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:46:02 -0500

Minnesota officials have tested 1,239 samples of venison donated to food shelves last fall and found that 273, or 22 percent, had evidence of lead bullet fragments.

That percentage is similar what was announced in April after about 300 samples had been examined with X-ray equipment.

But the extent of the issue continues to surprise and perplex officials.

Can a greener economy help solve poverty?

hunger — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:55:25 -0500

A poverty/pollution epiphany

Fuel Prices Impact Local Food Bank

hunger — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:32:35 -0500

Each year Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food bank rescues 2–point–6 million pounds of food, from excess restaurant stocks, to help out 40–thousand people in the Northland.
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But with the ever–increasing price of fuel the cost of getting that food to people in need comes with a growing price tag, as LeAnn Wallace reports.

Coleman praises farm bill

hunger — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:13:03 -0500

A version of the 2007 Farm Bill is on its way to both the U.S. House and Senate, where Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., is confident it will pass.

If everything goes smoothly, he said, the $300 billion, five-year bill could be on President Bush’s desk by the end of next week. Whether Bush will sign the bill is the biggest unknown that remains.