City of Minneapolis awards nearly $1 million in coronavirus relief funding to 37 local food shelves

On Monday, the city of Minneapolis is awarding more than $935,000 in federal CARES-Coronavirus Relief (CRF) funding to 37 local food shelves, food pop-ups, farmers markets, restaurants and faith communities distributing free food and meals directly to Minneapolis residents. The effort is done through the CARES Community Food Security Grants initiative to provide emergency food relief.

According to the announcement from the city, awardees will serve the city and provide free emergency food support related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides providing immediate food relief, the grant awards will build capacity in the emergency food relief system, positioning community partners to sustain the increased level of service needs brought on by the impacts of the pandemic.

"Nobody should have to wonder where their next meal will come from," Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement. "But since the onset of the pandemic and recession, we’ve seen a sharp rise in Minnesotans confronting food insecurity. With support from our trusted community partners, this investment will help meet a fundamental need for more residents in our city."

After the city received 47 applications with requests of nearly $1.3 million for the original $470,000 of CARES-CRF funding, the city allocated another $465,000 in CARES-CRF to the pool.

The city said awards range from $2,000 to $53,500 and will pay for food, hygiene supplies and equipment. Funded organizations serve Black people, Indigenous people and people of color, as well as geographic areas with the highest barriers to food access. Some focus is also on special populations such as people with HIV/AIDS, older adults or people experiencing homelessness.

An additional $65,000 in CARES-CRF funds were allocated to address specific identified gaps in the emergency food relief system in Minneapolis. These funds will support culturally relevant free food distribution efforts.

In collaboration with these efforts, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is donating more than 83,000 pounds of non-perishable food, valued at over $88,000, to local food banks, the Food Group and Second Harvest Heartland to support emergency food relief in Minneapolis. This is its second donation, with the same amount of food delivered to the food banks in July.

For more information on the initiative, click here.