Becker County food pantry reports record month, warns of rising costs after SNAP and program cuts

Liz (manager/director of the Becker County Food Pantry) told the county board the pantry has seen a substantial rise in demand and mounting costs that threaten operations if funding gaps continue. She said the pantry recorded 2,181 people served (653 households) in July — the pantry’s busiest month — and had 208 new households so far this year. The pantry manager said cuts to the SNAP‑Ed program and to a Farm‑to‑Table produce distribution affected local supplies; the North Country Food Bank has partially funded produce shipments but now requires freight and a 5¢/lb handling charge for some drops that were previously free. Liz told commissioners that protein donations — ground beef, chicken and similar items previously supplied by the food bank — have largely disappeared from recent orders, creating a need to purchase proteins locally. She said a recent ground‑beef price from Central Market ran as high as $7 per pound, and that the pantry paid about $0.45 per pound for bulk food in July (about $0.63/lb including meat), resulting in roughly $20,000 in food purchases that month alone. The pantry used food rescue from retailers (Aldi, Walmart, Central Market) to supplement supplies, and volunteers perform regular rescue runs. Commissioners asked procedural and program questions — how household counts are calculated (households receive one distribution per month; quantities vary by household size), whether the pantry can order from vendors such as Sysco (contacted but often not cost‑effective), and whether SNAP‑Ed cuts affected outreach and education programs (the SNAP‑Ed educators lost positions and public education visits have been reduced). The pantry manager described partnerships with local entities (Mahubhi/Head Start, University of Minnesota Extension, North Country Food Bank), internal budgeting work, and grant‑seeking to stretch resources. The pantry asked the board to consider donations of money over food (cash purchases yield larger purchasing power) and noted county and community support, including prior employee donation drives and county matches that boosted pantry funds. No county motion to allocate new funds was made at the meeting. Pantry staff said they will continue grant work and budgeting changes while the board considers options and local donation drives.