CARES Food Insecurity

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

In August 2020 Hennepin County Human Services identified a need to provide an expanded level of services to community organizations, businesses, and service providers in Hennepin County. Seeing the impact as a result of the coronavirus on services to residents, Hennepin County extended an opportunity to communities to apply for $2.0M in CARES funding for Food Insecurity. This opportunity specifically targeted low-income and BIPOC communities with an emphasis on the delivery of culturally appropriate food. Funding was awarded to 69 organizations with grant amounts up to $50,000 to deliver perishable and non-perishable food items along with PPE to pop up distribution sites, community organizations, churches, food banks, food shelves and non-profits. With a focus on culturally appropriate food distribution, residents were able to get staples such as injera, wild rice, buffalo meat, palm oil, tortillas, beans, halal meat, which were traditionally not available through food shelves and pop up distribution sites. Together through partnerships and collaborations, Hennepin County mobilized staff who were bilingual and representative of the refugee, immigrant, and communities of color we serve to provide food to our residents. This opportunity helped to feed tens of thousands of Hennepin County residents directly impacted by the pandemic who might not otherwise been able to provide for the food needs of their households.