How Programs Like Nutritious U Food Pantry Close the Gap for Food-Insecure Students When people consider all of the different ways they can support their community members experiencing hunger, they often first think about unhoused populations, elderly individuals and families with young children. These groups certainly need and rely on help from organizations like The […] Read more

Food Access Needs Remain High Looking Into the New Year: Centering community voice to create solutions
As our executive director, Sophia Lenarz-Coy, recently noted, we continue to live in unprecedented times. More Minnesotans received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds in 2023 than in any year since 2016, and food shelf visits continue to break state records. As we consider these troubling trends and look ahead to 2025, it’s important to […] Read more

Lived Experiences Have the Power to Shape Public Policy
How Individuals and Their Stories Create Community-Informed Solutions We believe that in order to solve food insecurity and hunger, solutions must come directly from the people living closest to the issue. People like Lisa, who is turning her experience navigating the emergency food system in Minnesota into advocacy work that helps others walking in similar […] Read more

A Note From Sophia
As we close out 2024 and look ahead to the new year, I am struck that we continue to live through unprecedented times. Unprecedented. Wasn’t that the most overused buzzword of 2020? And yet I use it now to reflect on this past year as well. When we look at food needs across our state, […] Read more

How Farm to School Programs Feed Students While Supporting Emerging Farmers
We believe everyone deserves access to nutritious and locally sourced foods, and we know from experience that this access is made possible in part by collaborative relationships with other community organizations. The partnership between our Big River Farms program and Minneapolis Public Schools’ farm to school program is just one way we help ensure Minnesotans […] Read more