Each year for the past decade, The Food Group has hosted Hunger Day on the Hill in collaboration with the Partners to End Hunger Coalition. Hunger Day joins voices across the state in a single, repeated chorus: no Minnesotan should go hungry. This year, our refrain was louder than ever. More than 200 food access champions descended on the Minnesota State Capitol last week to meet with legislators for Hunger Day 2025!
The room hummed with energy as community members mingled, donned nametags, and gathered materials to advocate for food-secure Minnesota. Attendees then heard from speakers about key issues and relevant policies impacting food access in Minnesota. Guests included Fairview Health Services CEO James Hereford, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Director of Racial & Health Equity Policy Janelle Waldock, Minnesota Representative Heather Keeler, and Lived Experience Cohort Member Lisa.
We also had the honor of hosting Governor Tim Walz, who shared the following message about food insecurity in Minnesota:
It is always a privilege and an uplifting experience for me when I’m with this group because I know you wake up every morning with a focus on making sure that no child and no person in Minnesota, no matter where they live, goes to bed hungry. And that is a basic human right. And I’m proud of the work we’ve done together.
– Governor Tim Walz
Governor Walz went on to speak about the importance of Hunger Day over the years and why face-to-face advocacy matters:
Coming to the Capitol for many of you over the years and advocating and going up there and working with representatives and doing the work that was necessary—that’s why we got meals for kids. It wasn’t just magic. It wasn’t a politician, alone. It was all of us, seeing the partnership in this. And we changed the trajectory.
– Governor Tim Walz
After the morning sessions, attendees shared lunch as they prepared for meetings and practiced speaking with legislators. We know that many people feel intimidated at the prospect of doing advocacy and speaking with legislators. But as so many of our speakers and attendees reiterated—Hunger Day is not about being a policy expert. It’s about tapping into your passion and raising your voice to make a difference.
Lisa, a member of The Food Group’s Lived Experience Cohort, shared her experience with Hunger Day 2024:
A big highlight for me last year was meeting Representative Keeler. I didn’t know who she was when we met but she was very kind and put me at ease speaking with me one-on-one. She was honest about advocacy, telling me: you don’t know where it will take you and you never will if you don’t try.
– Lisa, Lived Experience Cohort
Another attendee, Martha, also shared her experience as a policy newcomer:
It’s been great. I volunteer at my local food shelf, and I was able to meet my senator and tell her a little bit about why the need is there. And she was really interested to hear about it and it was not as intimidating as I thought it would be.
– Martha, Community Member
Andrea told us that it was powerful to see so many different people, all fighting for the same vision—a hunger-free Minnesota:
It’s always so inspiring and exciting to see so many people who are like-minded come together for one cause, all kinds of different backgrounds, all kinds of different organizations. But we all are aligned on food access, so it’s a really neat thing to see.
– Andrea, Foundation for Essential Needs (FFEN)
We witnessed so many powerful connections with legislators during Hunger Day on the Hill 2025. From organic hallway meetings to rotunda group huddles, this year’s advocates leveraged every opportunity to urge legislators to put ending hunger at the top of their priority list.
We also caught up with a few other Hunger Day advocates to learn why food access matters to them. Here’s what they said:
I’m passionate about this because of my own personal story with hunger relief and needing help through a really difficult time… even though I had ample support around me, it wasn’t enough support to get me through my time of need. And without the support of my community, I would not be able to have what I have today.
– April, The Food Group
Food is something that uniquely touches every single person… it matters how that food is farmed, where that food is coming from, how we look at food as a tool for investment in communities, for trying to change and realize the world that we want to see.
– Ethan, Second Harvest Heartland
At the Food Group, we believe that all Minnesotans should have access to nutritious, culturally connected food. As one of our attendees expressed, “Food is health, and food is needed for the health of our communities.”
Food insecurity is preventable and a food-secure Minnesota is possible. To achieve that vision, we need holistic, community-informed solutions. That’s why The Food Group is fighting to protect proven programs currently at risk—like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and universal school meals. We’re also advocating for sustainable food shelf funding, expanding affordable fresh produce programs, and more. You can find more information about our 2025 policy priorities here.
At a Capitol press conference for Hunger Day, The Food Group Executive Director Sophia Lenarz- Coy talked about the importance of funding for Minnesota food shelves.
Now is simply not the time for food shelves to experience cuts in that funding. So, as food shelf visit numbers indicate, food shelves pay a vital role in ensuring the health and wellbeing of Minnesotans and so we are doing everything we can to raise awareness and come up with policy solutions to support them.
– Sophia Lenarz-Coy, The Food Group Executive Director
The Food Group believes that advocacy is essential to creating food for today and change for tomorrow. We work toward that vision by strategically championing policy for a better food system, building relationships with legislators, and investing in coalitions that bring many voices together for change. Hunger Day perfectly encapsulates that advocacy spirit.
Lastly, we asked some of our attendees if they had a message for legislators. Here’s what they said:
To people who are doubting these programs or thinking that they’re not important, I would just encourage you to look around, because there are people all around you. It could be a friend, a co-worker. It could be your neighbor or even a family member that is one paycheck away from needing these same services and it could be you too. And so that is what this system is here for is to help people.
– Katie, Foundation for Essential Needs (FFEN)
Everything that’s decided affects everybody, even if they are not accepting help from SNAP or a food shelf. Reducing funds for those programs would greatly affect the local economy. And that, in turn, would affect you as an individual, regardless of if you know someone that uses SNAP or you use it yourself.
– April, The Food Group
Collectively, we have the power to ensure all Minnesotans have access to nutritious, quality food.
As Governor Walz put it: “As long as there’s folks out there who are hungry, we’ve got more work to do. But we also know there’s policies we can put in place that reduce that.” Hunger Day on the Hill is a chance to harness our power to create the change we want to see. We hope to see you there next year!
Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors!
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