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Star Tribune

The proposed ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ could have devastating consequences for over 150,000 Minnesotans, including children and seniors, by cutting vital SNAP benefits. This isn’t just about food; it’s about the well-being of our community. Learn more about what’s at stake and why it’s crucial to contact your representatives. Continue reading here.

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St Paul Publishing Co.

The Twin Cities Mobile Market isn’t just about groceries; it’s about dignity and access. The Food Group’s new Twin Cities Mobile Market site in downtown St. Paul is a powerful step in bringing fresh, affordable, and even culturally connected foods directly to neighborhoods that need them most, especially after local grocery store closures. A huge thank you to St Paul Publishing for their insightful coverage on our work! Read the full story here.

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Star Tribune

Congressional committees overseeing Medicaid and food stamps took up legislation this week to cut the federal government’s social safety net while making tax cuts. Many in Minnesota — including medical providers, local government officials and advocates for seniors, children and people with disabilities — warn that the plans will hurt those in need and damage local economies. Read more here.

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MinnPost

The proposed cuts to the food stamp program come as grocery prices are stubbornly high and food shelves, which have suffered from Trump administration cuts in funding, are struggling to keep up with need. The shelves already help food stamp recipients who can’t make it on the amount of benefits they receive. Read more here.

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MPR

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled almost half of food shelf orders from Minnesota farmers under the federal Commodity Credit Corporation. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families has placed orders for 78 truckloads of food so far in 2025, including for eggs, milk, chicken and dried fruit. It was for distribution to its statewide network of food banks, shelves and meal programs. Read more here.

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Sahan Journal

Hunger and food insecurity are on the rise in Minnesota, jeopardizing the health and wellbeing of countless individuals and families. According to a recent statewide hunger survey, 1 in 5 Minnesota households are food insecure and 30% of households in Minnesota are not confident about having enough food in the next year. The escalating cost of groceries and cuts to food assistance programs will only increase these numbers, impacting our most vulnerable community members. Read more here.

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Star Tribune

Rising food prices and higher costs of living, along with the end of pandemic-era benefits, led to another record-breaking year of food shelf visits for the state, with Minnesotans making nearly 9 million visits to places like PRISM last year. That has jumped from around 3.5 million food shelf visits annually before the pandemic. Read more here.

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MPR

Minnesotans made nearly 9 million visits to the food shelves in 2024, a steady increase in visitation rates since pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report’s findings. The Food Group, a nonprofit working toward food justice and equity, released the report on Wednesday in partnership with the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Highlights show grocery prices increased by 28 percent over four years. Read more here.

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Pioneer Press

PSA: Federal funding uncertainty is still impacting Minnesota nonprofits even after the executive order was rescinded! The Food Group’s organizational stability is not at risk—but we can’t access funds for two federal grants that support essential community work. One provides funding for our statewide food helpline and the other supports training for emerging farmers. The Food Group Executive Director Sophia Lenarz-Coy sat down with Pioneer Press to talk about how the freeze order is affecting our work. Read more here: https://www.twincities.com/2025/02/12/frozen-funding-federal-uncertainty-leave-st-paul-nonprofits-reeling/

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Altenergymag

Land access is one of the most significant barriers faced by young and emerging farmers throughout Minnesota. With limited availability of affordable, high-quality farmland, especially on long-term contracts, many aspiring farmers struggle to break into the industry. A promising solution lies in maximizing land productivity by combining solar energy production with agriculture – a practice known as “agrivoltaics”. One standout example is a project located in Big Lake, Minnesota, where a local solar developer has partnered with Big River Farms (BRF), a program of The Food Group and an organization that champions emerging farmers. Read more here: https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2024/12/how-agrivoltaics-can-help-solve-land-access-challenges-for-emerging-and-young-farmers-/44012

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West Central Tribune

2024 Wrapped up with an all time high of 9 million food shelf visits in Minnesota. The Food Group and many hunger-relief organizations are working strategically across the state to meet this increase. To ensure neighbors and families will never have to decide between a bill and food on the table, a new funding of $5.5 million was announced last week to go toward food from Minnesota producers and processors. We are grateful for this investment from Governor Walz! Read more here: https://www.wctrib.com/news/minnesota/walz-announces-5-5-million-in-funding-for-minnesota-food-shelves

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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/

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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/

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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Pilot project combines solar and farming.

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