BROOKLYN PARK, Minn — One of the nation's largest food banks is Second Harvest Heartland in Brooklyn Park; on Monday, the organization announced a bold new plan to cut hunger in half for all Minnesotans by 2030.
The nonprofit's Make Hunger History initiative aims to bring together communities, business leaders and lawmakers to fight the growing problem of food insecurity.
Just last week, a report said Minnesota food shelves saw a record number of visits in 2023.
The rising demand is blamed on "sky-high grocery, gas and utility prices coupled with the expiration of pandemic-era emergency relief programs," according to a Second Harvest Heartland news release.
The big food bank and its network of local food shelves are putting up the historic "cut in half" goal to motivate community leaders for the challenges they'll face.
"This is a defining moment in our mission to end hunger," said Allison O'Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, said in a statement. "We're not settling for short-term fixes anymore. Through new connections, advocacy and insights, we're working together toward systemic change and a future where every Minnesotan has the food they need to thrive."
Two Minnesota-based corporations, Target and Cargill, have already accepted the Make Hunger History challenge, by each pledging $10 million.
In their news release, Second Harvest Heartland officials listed initiatives they believe will help accomplish their 2030 goal:
- Power up partnerships to get more of the right food, right where it’s needed most – with new mapping capabilities to identify hunger hot spots, new delivery and pick-up methods and prioritizing in-demand produce and proteins.
- Reimagine the emergency food delivery network to serve more neighbors – the network will lean into mobile distributions and community-identified pick-up sites, increase delivery efficiencies and keep food local whenever possible.
- Make hunger less common by delivering one-on-one services – Second Harvest Heartland’s new Care Center team will proactively work with neighbors to find grocery help and connect them with other economic and social services.
- Increase economic stability across the region through coalition building and policy wins – root causes of hunger like access to affordable housing, transportation and healthcare will be addressed by a coalition made up of food shelves and other nonprofits, community members and leaders, creating a shared legislative agenda to ensure every Minnesotan’s basic needs are met.
- Track progress to do more of what’s working, less of what isn’t – with a clear, measurable goal to reduce Minnesota food shelf visits long-term, Second Harvest Heartland and partners will track progress publicly using new data sets and metrics that allow the food bank to track food insecurity with more accuracy and urgency.
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