Food shelves in Minnesota are seeing increased demand as 2023 comes to an end.

The St. Louis Park Emergency Program Food Shelf typically serves about 3,500 people annually.

“Families come and pick out their own food,” Executive Director Derek Reise said. “A significant number of people we serve rely exclusively on us for food.”

The food shelf saw higher demand every month of 2023 compared to the year prior.

“It’s been a 56% increase in visits,” Reise said. “We’ve been able to respond to that, but it’s been a lot of work.”

He attributes the increase to inflation, high housing costs and the end of some pandemic-era supports.

“A really large number of people coming to us have not needed assistance from a food shelf before,” he said, explaining their food budget doubled in the last year. “That’s where financial donations are so important to us.”

The Twin Cities Salvation Army is also seeing a boost in demand at its nine metro area food shelves.

“Higher than even the pandemic,” said Capt. Josh Polanco, the general secretary. “We thought it would go down after the pandemic but it’s actually gone up 30 to 40%.”

The organization is in the final push of its Christmas fundraising campaign. Donations are down nearly 18%, however, compared to last year. The Salvation Army is still behind by about $700,000 in donations with just days left to go in the year.

The Twin Cities Salvation Army’s overall fundraising goal is $11.3 million. The Christmas campaign accounts for about 75% of the organization’s annual revenue, which helps support the food shelves and emergency rent and utility assistance.

“I don’t want to think about reducing our services during a time when they’re most needed,” Polanco said. “I believe that there still will be a miracle and we’ll be able to close that gap and we’ll be able to offer those services that our neighbors have come to rely on.”