News Archive
Minn. Meals on Wheels agencies weather sequester cuts -- for now
by Julie Siple, Minnesota Public Radio
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
CHASKA, Minn. — Home-delivered meal programs in Minnesota have managed to weather the hit they took in the across-the-board federal budget cuts earlier this year — at least for now.
Minnesota gets $2.8 million from the federal government each year for a number of organizations that deliver meals to seniors in their homes. Because of the sequester, that money was cut by $155,000 — about 5 percent.
Before the sequester took effect in March, critics warned the cuts could force some seniors off the program. Hunger advocates, politicians, and the White House expressed concern that home-delivered meals would have to be scaled back.
But no Minnesota seniors have been forced off of the program, nor have any groups reduced the number of meals they provide. That's because the Area Agencies on Aging that distribute the money have been able to tap reserves — or make other adjustments — to fill the gap.
"We've been very fortunate. We have not as yet experienced any cuts," said Jean Wood, executive director of the Minnesota Board on Aging
Volunteers deliver thousands of meals across the state every day and say seniors are anxious to see them.
"A lot of times they're waiting at the door," Marian Rohlik said on a recent delivery run in Chaska. "That's probably the only meal they're going to get of the day, and we're probably the only company they're going to get for the day...
Continue ReadingFood shelves strive to provide healthier groceries
by Julie Siple, Minnesota Public Radio
Monday, April 29, 2013
MINNEAPOLIS — For decades, Minnesota food shelves focused on providing enough food to people in need.
But these days, food shelf directors are aware that some of their clients are obese or have diseases related to their diet. With that in mind, they increasingly focus on providing not just enough calories but the right kind of calories.
The need is clear at Keystone Community Services, which runs three foods shelves in Ramsey County. In 2011, the organization conducted a survey of its clients and the results startled Christine Pulver, its director of basic needs.
"Our clients have twice the national average incidence of diabetes," she said. "They also show high blood pressure rates, cardiac issues. Some of those issues are diet related."
Pulver is among those who recognize that food shelves can play a critical role in improving their clients' health. She wants to offer more produce, and fewer pastries — but that's not as easy as it sounds. Healthier food is expensive.
Last summer, Pulver reduced the amount of food she gives each client to spend more on healthy items. But she doesn't have enough money to go to the grocery store and must rely on donations and what she can buy at the local food bank. That explains the sugar cereal Coco Roos in her food shelf.
Still, Pulver said, the food shelf has been able to make a big switch to healthier items, with more fruits and vegetables and low-sodium and low-fat...
Continue ReadingShakopee man charged in food stamp fraud
by Julie Siple, Minnesota Public Radio
Monday, April 22, 2013
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Shakopee man has been charged in federal court with one felony count of food stamp fraud.
According to the charging document, Chin Son Kim, 47, fraudulently used food stamps during the period of November, 2010 through July, 2012.
The document lays out a complicated scheme in which Kim allegedly waited outside a charity in St. Paul and other locations, looking for food stamp recipients he could recruit to provide him with EBT cards, the plastic cards that carry food stamp benefits. After collecting a card, Kim would go to a cooperating local market.
There, the grocer would swipe the card through a food stamp reader, as if a legitimate transaction had occurred. However, the grocer would provide Kim with cash or store credit. It is illegal to exchange food stamps for cash or ineligible merchandise.
Afterwards, Kim would allegedly return the card to its rightful owner, providing that person with a portion of the cash.
According to an earlier search warrant affidavit, Kim sought the EBT cards outside homeless shelters, including the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Kim's actions cost the food stamp program $29,816. If convicted, Kim faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Twin Cities attorney Joe Friedberg, who is representing Kim, declined to comment on the case.
Federal officials say food stamp fraud is rare.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that nationally 1 percent of food benefits are lost to trafficking.
The USDA is aggressively pursuing grocers that participate in food stamp fraud.
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Weather delays opening of St. Paul Farmers' Market
by Julie Siple, Minnesota Public Radio
Monday, April 22, 2013
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The unseasonably cold and snowy weather is delaying the opening of the St. Paul Farmers' Market.
The market was scheduled for a spring opening this Saturday, but will instead open Saturday, May 4.
Manager Jack Gerten said growers need warm temperatures in order to display their products. Even though the forecast calls for a warmer weekend, market managers decided to play it safe.
"Normally, we have to have the temperature above freezing, into the 40s, before we can set up. Otherwise it's just too cold and the products will freeze," Gerten said.
"What looks like warm weather now, if we get 6-8 inches of snow, it might not disappear as quick," Gerten said.
He said the market square still has snow piled up to about three feet in the corners from the last storm.
"If we add a few more inches, we'll still have snow on the market come this weekend," Gerten said.
The Minneapolis Farmers' Market will open this Saturday on North Lyndale as planned, managers say. They expect about 30 growers to be there.
Both the Minneapolis Farmers' Market on North Lyndale and the downtown St. Paul Farmers' Market will accept food stamps, officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A growing number of Minnesota farmers' markets accept food stamp benefits.
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Schafer: Firms take a business approach to hunger
LEE SCHAFER , Star Tribune
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The Hennepin County Medical Center serves about 1,500 families each month with an emergency food shelf called the therapeutic food pharmacy.
A pediatrician who helped launch it described it as mostly a group of volunteers who pack bags with inexpensively purchased or donated food and drop them off at clinics and departments in the big downtown Minneapolis medical center.
This relatively humble effort recently got an innovation grant from a statewide group called Hunger-Free Minnesota, as the medical center’s operation is one of the nation’s few food shelves operated by a hospital.
Some of the other 19 recipients of grants were planning to use Hunger-Free’s new Community Close-Up data analysis tool. Developed by the Boston Consulting Group as a $600,000 in-kind donation, the tool drills into census tract data to help food shelf managers and others determine the best way to reach the people who are hungry in a community.
Fostering innovation and the use of data analysis are hallmarks of Hunger-Free Minnesota in its three-year campaign to increase the capacity of the food system to eliminate a gap of 100 million missing meals in the state. That businesslike approach may explain why Hunger-Free Minnesota’s principal support comes from the Fortune 500 neighborhood of the Twin Cities business community, with Cargill and General Mills on board. General Mills just doubled its support with a new $1 million grant.
The Hennepin County Medical Center serves about 1,500 families each month with an emergency food shelf called the therapeutic food pharmacy.
A pediatrician who helped launch it described it as mostly a group of volunteers who pack bags with inexpensively purchased or donated food and drop them off at clinics and departments in the big downtown Minneapolis medical center.
This relatively humble effort recently got an innovation grant from a...
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