Grocery costs vary widely from store to store

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Eating healthy can be a challenge, as well as expensive when you are trying to shop for organic groceries. Do you know which stores have the best values in regular groceries and organic food products? We didn’t, so interns at the Daily Planet went comparison shopping to find out the price for a bag of common grocery items from nine different grocery stores. The stores included were: ALDI, Cub Foods, Lunds, Rainbow Foods, Seward Co-op, Target, Trader Joe’s, Wal-Mart, and Whole Foods Market. We looked at “regular” and organic foods. Continue Reading

Minnesota food shelves give more, need more this year

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Demand at local food shelves skyrocketed in the past year, as more Minnesotans face layoffs and job insecurity. Graph from Hungers Solutions reportVisits to metro area food shelves increased 21 percent in the last year, according to a new report from Hunger Solutions, a hunger relief organization. In Dakota and Carver counties, increases are even more alarming, at 70 percent and 66 percent respectively. At the same time, only about 69 percent of eligible Minnesota residents receive food stamp benefits. “It’s pretty staggering,” Jon Guy, of hunger relief organization Second Harvest Heartland, said. Continue Reading

Feeding seniors in tough times

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Amidst a deepening recession and a frigid Minnesota winter, seniors throughout the state have become increasingly dependent on food assistance programs to ensure food security and proper nutrition. However, given the state’s current financial woes, the future of these programs is far from certain. Food assistance programs play a vital role for Minnesota’s seniors. For one, they promote food-security, ensuring that seniors do not go hungry. However, they often play a more subtle role as well, by ensuring that seniors receive proper nutrition. Continue Reading

Feeding the foodshelves

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Since the national unemployment rate has climbed to a staggering 6.5 percent (as high as 8.5 percent in some states), more and more people find themselves below the poverty level. About 50 percent of unemployed people and families are eligible for food support, according to the non-profit MN Hunger Solutions, though many are unaware of these benefits.Putting it all together: Where to find food, where to donate
Food shelves are the bottom line, place of last resort to get a bag of groceries for your family. Many have rules about residence and about the number of times you can come there. Hunger Solutions Minnesota has a complete list, available on-line or by calling them at 651-486-9860. Meals on Wheels delivers hot, meals over the lunch hour Monday through Friday to homebound, elderly and disabled individuals. Continue Reading

Minneapolis food shelves lay bare

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At the end of a long hallway at the Brian Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, a small room is lined with shelves and a commercial refrigerator. On the shelves, cans of lima beans sit aside boxes of mac’n’cheese and plastic bags of East Indian spices.Every day when the food shelf closes, the metal shelves are bare. The next morning, workers restock them again from a diminishing supply across the hallway. Food shelves have seen a 14 percent increase in visits during the first half of 2008, according to data from Hunger Solutions Minnesota, a statewide hunger relief agency. Since July, when Becky Burand took over responsibility for the Brian Coyle food shelf, she’s seen monthly increases in demand. Continue Reading

Between hunger and a hard place: Food shelves face recession challenges

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Tough as times are, it’s harder than ever on the financially challenged. They’d have a harder time still without food shelves. Accordingly, Twin Cities food shelves have become a more vital resource than ever before.Putting it all together: Where to find food, where to donate
Food shelves are the bottom line, place of last resort to get a bag of groceries for your family. Many have rules about residence and about the number of times you can come there. Hunger Solutions Minnesota has a complete list, available on-line or by calling them at 651-486-9860. Continue Reading

Between hunger and a hard place: Food shelves face recession challenges

By |

Tough as times are, it’s harder than ever on the financially challenged. They’d have a harder time still without food shelves. Accordingly, Twin Cities food shelves have become a more vital resource than ever before. The objective is to give a bag of groceries, hopefully including frozen meat, to feed a family at least a couple days. Toward that end food shelves are doing their best to keep the pantry stocked. Continue Reading