Press & Media

View the latest press and more featuring The Food Group below.

For media inquiries, please contact Sophia Lenarz-Coy, executive director –[email protected] • 763-450-3864

Latest Press Stories

KSTP

More than 6,000 Minnesotans had their EBT benefits stolen between January and November, totaling more than $1.2 million dollars lost. “Many of these folks don’t have another way to pay, “said Sophia Lenarz-Coy, executive director of The Food Group. Many will have to rely on food shelves in the process of recovering these funds. Continue reading the coverage here: https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/its-pretty-sad-that-somebody-would-even-steal-from-the-poor-new-data-shows-ebt-card-skimming-crime-hit-thousands-of-minnesotans/

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Thank you to Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder for writing this piece to highlight the SNAP Challenge. The Food Group’s Executive Director, Sophia Lenarz-Coy recently shared, “One thing that we are going to work on at the state level is if we can try to increase the minimum benefit for seniors on SNAP. Right now, if a senior gets the minimum benefit, they’re only getting $23 a month, which we know just doesn’t go very far at all. There’s a lot of paperwork, so our senior enrollment rates are low,” Lenarz-Coy said, “But at a broader level, I think what we are really hoping to do is to make sure SNAP at the federal level does not get cut.” Read more of the highlight here: https://spokesman-recorder.com/2024/12/05/food-shelves-minnesota-hunger-crisis/

MPR News

MPR News featured The Food Group’s Executive Director, Sophia Lenarz-Coy in a story that highlights the high cost of living that are driving Minnesota food shelf visits. Read here: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/11/14/high-cost-of-living-drives-minnesota-visits-to-food-shelves-adds-strain-to-system

Star Tribune

Our Executive Director, Sophia Lenarz-Coy shared “While we hear in the news how inflation is coming down, the piece that’s buried in that is [it’s] coming down from crazy high levels.” People are looking for assistance, and now anti-hunger programs are needing the funds to meet this demand. Continue reading here: https://www.startribune.com/food-shelves-see-record-demand-as-minnesotans-struggle-to-afford-groceries/601187599

Star Tribune

The Star Tribune ran The Food Group’s Executive Director, Sophia Lenarz-Coy’s OpEd on how nearly 500,000 Minnesotans used SNAP last year, and how cuts are threatened in Washington. Read the story here: https://www.startribune.com/last-year-nearly-500000-minnesotans-used-snap-but-cuts-are-threatened-in-washington/601187389

Star Tribune

The Star Tribune featured a story on the Twin Cities Mobile Market bus, a revamped school bus that’s like a grocery store on wheels for people who don’t live close to a regular grocery store. Read the story here: https://www.startribune.com/mobile-market-delivers-food-to-twin-cities-communities-in-need/601139435

Sahan Journal

The Sahan Journal did a great article on our Agrivoltaics work centered on our emerging farm partners. Read the story here: https://sahanjournal.com/news/minnesota-immigrant-farmers-solar-gardens-agrivoltaics/

The Guardian

The Guardian did a story on the Sudanese Farming Group that is part of Big River Farms and farms on site at New Hope outside our offices/warehouse! Read the story here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/21/sudanese-farm-minnesota

Watch this great feature by WCCO on our Big River Farms program. We’re grateful for the spotlight on our farm partners, Farm Director, and partners at Neighborhood House. We believe in local food for every table by supporting emerging farmers and increasing access to local foods for everyone, including food shelves.

‘Twin Cities Mobile Market’ brings fresh groceries to people in food deserts