Thousands of Minnesotans Are at Risk of Food Insecurity

Transcript

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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.

ANCHOR: Thousands of Minnesotans are at risk of food insecurity. In today's stories, Minnesota lawmakers condemn the end of protections for refugees. And, some patients in the Twin Cities are getting a little extra help when it comes to practicing their religions.

I'm Chantel SinGs.

The Minnesota Senate Asian Pacific Caucus is condemning the Trump administration's move to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for nearly 4,000 Minnesota immigrants from Southeast Asia. Most of those immigrants are members of the Karen community, from the eastern region of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Minnesota is home to about 20,000 people from the Karen community, making it the largest in the country. This move follows the administration's announcement to end TPS protections for Somali Minnesotans.

Next, nearly half a million Minnesotans are receiving food benefits. But even with the federal programs back in operation, thousands of Minnesotans could lose their benefits entirely. Producer Ngoc Bui explains why.

Ngoc Bui: The shutdown was just the latest curveball for Minnesotans on SNAP. That's the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal program that helps people pay for groceries.

Tikki Brown: I think it's a very difficult time for SNAP recipients right now, just to understand and keep up with the ever-changing nature of what has been happening.

Ngoc Bui: Tikki Brown is the Commissioner of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, or DCYF, which oversees the implementation of the SNAP program in our state. Even though payments are back on schedule, Commissioner Brown says there are significant changes to SNAP ahead and already in place as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as H.R. 1. The bill passed in July is set to cut $120 billion from SNAP nationwide over the next 10 years. DCYF estimates Minnesota will lose about half of the federal reimbursements it's been getting.

Tikki Brown: We know that the state cannot make up for all of the federal funding that has been coming into our state. I don't think any state can across the nation.

Ngoc Bui: Commissioner Brown says she's trying to figure out how to address this impending nearly $40 million shortfall.

Tikki Brown: Do we need to modify or adjust ways that we have traditionally done the program in order to manage some of these cost shifts that are coming? I think the counties have been really clear about how they are having to raise their property taxes to help manage some of the anticipated administrative cuts.

Ngoc Bui: On the ground, hunger relief organizations like Second Harvest Heartland are trying to help the thousands of Minnesotans who could lose access to SNAP benefits due to expanded minimum work requirements that went into effect in November. That change has led to more people needing to prove they are working a certain number of hours in order to receive benefits.

Mesa Siebert: I think we had a call recently from somebody who was 64 and they got a letter in the mail saying they're going to have to go back to work.

Ngoc Bui: That's Mesa Siebert with Second Harvest.

Mesa Siebert: They were really scared. They were wondering how that was going to happen. They live in a rural area. There's not a lot of jobs. They're on disability.

Ngoc Bui: Siebert says there are also changes to eligibility that have occurred due to H.R. 1.

Mesa Siebert: Folks who are here legally, maybe on a refugee visa or asylee visa, a trafficking humanitarian visa, will be impacted by the H.R. 1 bill.

Ngoc Bui: Commissioner Brown anticipates all these cuts and changes will stress an already stressed system.

Tikki Brown: There are long-term impacts that impact everybody across the state as a result of these federal cost shifts. And we already see over 9 million visits per year with our food shelves, and that need is increasing. And so we have a real issue, I think, with ensuring that people get the food they need with more and more limited resources and more constraints. And that's a pretty significant concern.

Ngoc Bui: This is Ngoc Bui for North Star Stories.

ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.

The Hennepin County Medical Center is expanding religious accommodations in its inpatient psychiatry department. Hennepin Healthcare, located in Minneapolis, has added more than 70 qibla stickers, markers that show the direction Muslims face when performing their daily prayers, which is toward the Kaaba in Mecca. The effort began after a doctor in the emergency department noticed a patient praying in the wrong direction and researched how hotels use similar markers.

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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.