Gov. Walz puts spotlight on hunger crisis

If it seems to you that COVID-19 has us careening from one crisis to another, you’re right. The Thanksgiving of 2020 will be remembered as one where the hunger crisis might be the worst in the past 100 years.

"We are in the hunger fight of our lives," said Second Harvest Heartland CEO Allison O’Toole, who got emotional talking about how hard her staff and volunteers work to help feed Minnesotans. "I am so incredibly proud of this team because they show up every day and work hard for the people of Minnesota."

Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen visited a Second Harvest Heartland warehouse facility in Brooklyn Park on Wednesday to spotlight the need for the state and federal governments, along with Minnesotans, to step forward to help.

"If you go to where food is being distributed, it’s not unusual to see lines stretching for miles and these are families, I just want to reiterate, that have not been food insecure before," the governor said.

O’Toole said one in eight Minnesotans is "food insecure," and one in five kids don’t know where their next meal will come from. The best thing Minnesotans can do is donate any amount to a local food shelf.

"We can leverage a dollar like nobody’s business here," she said. "We can turn a buck into three meals and so if you can give a financial donation we would sure appreciate it."

Walz said more state financial aid for food shelves could be considered in a special session in the next week or two.