Food shelf visits triple as costs rise, model shifts
The White Bear Lake City Council heard Wednesday that visits to the White Bear Area Food Shelf have nearly tripled in five years, driven by rising housing and food costs alongside cuts to federal assistance programs. Executive Director Perry Peterson presented the organization's shift to an open-access model that allows residents to visit as often as needed.
Peterson told the council that one in five Minnesota households struggle to afford food, a stark reminder of the region's food insecurity crisis. The food shelf has seen dramatic growth in demand, which Peterson attributed to two factors: genuine increased need among residents and the organization's decision to eliminate barriers to access. "We did make the switch in the beginning of COVID to be open to anyone and as often as needed," Peterson said, noting this approach has become an industry trend.
The food shelf now distributes food through multiple channels, including curbside pickup on Whitaker Street, a community market, mobile markets at locations like Century College, and a Kid Pack program. Peterson emphasized that the organization prioritizes healthy, fresh food rather than processed items. He also highlighted the food shelf's food recovery efforts, which reduce waste while meeting community needs.
Council members expressed broad support for the operational changes. Mayor McCloskey praised the shift toward healthier food options, saying it benefits the community long-term. Council member Angstran noted the practical impact: "The number of times that myself and my colleagues have had to try to figure out where people can go for their next free food... it just compounds problems." However, Council member Walsh raised an analytical question, suggesting that some of the usage increase may simply reflect easier access rather than solely increased need.
Peterson noted the critical role of federal programs, stating that for every nine meals provided by SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), the food shelf system supports only one. Cuts to federal programs like SNAP and the Emergency Food Assistance Program have forced the food shelf to purchase more food independently, straining resources. The presentation was informational only, with no official council action taken. City Manager Crawford also announced upcoming community events and reminded residents that the primary election is scheduled for August 11th.
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Votes (1)
Presentation: White Bear Area Food Shelf Update
Perry Peterson, Executive Director, presented the food shelf's history, current operations, and challenges. He noted that one in five Minnesota households struggle to afford food, and the food shelf visits have nearly tripled in five years due to factors like rising housing and food costs and reductions in federal programs like SNAP. The food shelf has adopted a model of open access, focusing on healthy, fresh food distributed through curbside pickup, a community market, mobile markets, and a Kid Pack program. Council members questioned the spike in usage, the impact of the new model, volunteer demographics, and neighborhood concerns related to the curbside pickup. Peterson clarified that while the need has increased, the change in operational model also contributes to higher visit numbers.
Notable Quotes (7)
One in five Minnesota households struggle to afford food.
We did make the switch in the beginning of COVID to be open to anyone and as often as needed. And that's a been a growing trend within our industry.
I love that you've changed that focus. And even though people have to come more, they're getting healthier food which is helping in the long run with everything, keeping costs down for everybody.
For every nine meals that SNAP provides a food the food shelf system only supports one.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate the change in the model to opening it up to people when they actually need it and how often they need it. The number of times that myself and my colleagues have had to try to figure out where people can go for their next free food because they have they're out of money and they've already used this one and they've already used that one. So like where else can they go and they don't have money for transportation? It's just it just compounds problems.
I'm just looking at this saying you've changed your your model and you've lowered barriers to to access and your in usage went up. Well, from an economic standpoint, of course it did. Um and is there a is there a is it does it chase itself? I just wonder if we're not chasing ourselves and if we're just, you know, well, yeah, we made it easier for people to get food and there's no economic transaction in it. So, we shouldn't be surprised that more people took advantage of it.
Especially appreciate your food recovery efforts, food waste is such a significant impact from a sustainability lens and greenhouse gas emissions. So being able to reuse that and leaning into that, I think is great because there's a need and it's being met.
Ordinances & Resolutions (2)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (traditional food stamp program), reductions of which significantly impact food shelf demand.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a federal food program distributed through Second Harvest, which is experiencing cuts leading to increased food purchases by the food shelf.
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Primary Election and City Events
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