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Diaper Bank leaders ask committee for larger, sustained state funding
Summary
Witnesses told the committee the Diaper Bank of Minnesota multiplied diaper distributions after a 2023 state allocation but that demand still outpaces supply; the committee laid House File 15,081 over for further consideration.
House File 15,081 would continue and expand state support for the Diaper Bank of Minnesota. Representative Hicks moved House File 15,081 (and a companion bill) to be before the committee and laid the measure over for possible consideration in an omnibus bill.
Amy Smith, advocacy chair for the Diaper Bank of Minnesota’s board, said a 2023 state allocation of $1.1 million allowed the network to increase distributions from about 865,000 diapers to 2.6 million by the end of 2024 and expand from 7 counties to 74 counties and dozens of new partners. Smith said demand still outstrips supply: the bank declined partnership requests from 76 agencies and many existing partners report allocations that are insufficient.
The Diaper Bank asked the committee for a recurring increase to $2.2 million in state funding to maintain and grow the network and to meet partner demand. Gina San Buenaventura, a board member of the Way of the Lord Food Shelf in Blaine, described local demand rising sharply and said allocations still ran out, leaving food shelves to find alternate purchases.
Representative Hicks said the Diaper Bank is an efficient, statewide delivery network and asked members to consider sustaining and increasing the appropriation. The committee laid the bill over for future consideration; members requested a fuller member discussion and follow-up data at a subsequent meeting.
