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Senators move to add milk money to Farm to Food Shelf base as food banks report rising need
Summary
Senators Mike Kupak and John Abler presented companion bills to add the 2023 one‑time milk appropriation to the Farm to Food Shelf program base; Second Harvest Heartland and Channel One told the committee demand and milk costs have risen and that funds are spent early in the year.
Senators Mike Kupak and John Abler told the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development that two companion bills (Senate File 629 and Senate File 257) would add the $250,000 a year the Legislature approved in 2023 for additional milk purchases into the Farm to Food Shelf program base, which the sponsors said has a statutory base of $1.7 million a year.
The change, Kupak said, would make the milk money a permanent appropriation rather than a temporary add‑on. “This change in the farm to food shelf language will ensure that [the Good Acre] continues to receive that state support,” Kupak said. Senator Abler said the program buys milk, protein and produce and praised the program’s low administrative costs: “they’re spending only 2% for admin,” he said.
Why it matters: Testimony from food‑bank officials described growing, sustained demand for product that the program helps supply and said the additional milk funds have been a gap the food banks currently cover themselves. Sophie Wallerstadt, public affairs manager at Second Harvest Heartland, told the committee the program routes donated and purchased food through warehouse and partner networks that serve food shelves across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Lindsay Akhmanik, director of sourcing and demand planning at Second Harvest Heartland, said program funds were spent rapidly in a recent year: “the entirety of funds in this year were spent in the first four months. That shows the degree to which the need exists.”
Channel 1 Regional Food Bank executive director Virginia Witherspoon told the committee her region distributed almost 19 million pounds of food in 2024 (up from about 14 million in 2023) and that new shoppers and household visits have risen sharply. “Farm to Food Shelf is absolutely essential to us,” she said, adding the program provides roughly half the milk Channel 1 needs for its distribution region.
Program details discussed to the committee: the program was created and implemented through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to reimburse farmers and pay harvesting/handling costs for excess produce and to purchase milk and protein for Feeding America food banks serving Minnesota. Committee testimony placed the program’s statutory base at $1.7 million a year and said the 2023 Legislature approved an additional $250,000 a year for fiscal 2024–25 to pay for extra milk but did not add that increase to the base; the sponsors’ bills would add it to the base. Witnesses said the program historically covers produce, protein and milk and that a larger share of money has gone to milk in recent years because milk is harder to obtain as a donation.
No final funding decision was made. Committee minutes show that Senate File 629 and Senate File 257 were laid over for possible inclusion in omnibus work.
Supporters emphasized food‑security benefits and local farm markets; food‑bank witnesses described tight supply, steep seasonal spending, and a need for the predictability that a permanently increased base appropriation would provide. The committee laid the bills over for possible inclusion in future package work.
The committee hearing included slides and data submitted by Second Harvest Heartland showing meal equivalents, program product breakdowns (produce by weight representing the largest share), and a decline in corporate and national donations in 2024 that has increased reliance on purchase programs.
