Skip to main content
An official website of Hennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin county

Advancing food security through innovation

A person stocks fresh produce in a refrigerated unit, highlighting food rescue efforts in Hennepin County.

Nearly 10% of Hennepin County households lived in fear of running out of food because of financial hardship, according to the county's 2022 SHAPE study, the most recent county survey on the topic. Nearly 7% said they didn’t have enough food available and there was no money to buy more.

Hunger disproportionately affects Black/African American, Indigenous, immigrant, Latine, LGBTQIA+, older adult, and Southeast Asian communities. While the pandemic worsened the problem, food shelves in Minnesota have experienced increased use for 10 consecutive years.

Hennepin County convened 60 food partners and residents in 2024 to understand the root cause and what might help. Top factors reported included the need to work together and make culturally connected foods available. The county started the food security initiative to connect community partners and build sustainable solutions.

Hennepin County invested $4 million in 2025 and in 2026 in 35 community partnerships. When the federal government shut down, the county provided another $2 million to help fill the gap when residents temporarily lost SNAP benefits.

Food rescue as part of the solution

Meanwhile, the amount of edible food discarded in Hennepin County could fill Target Field 1.5 times each year. About 2 pounds of edible food per person gets wasted each week.

All that food requires resources to grow, harvest, transport and prepare.

The food security initiative and the county's Environment and Energy department partner to "rescue" edible food that would otherwise be discarded. That helps feed people and reduce waste. Nearly 22 million pounds of surplus food were collected and redistributed in 2025. In the past three years, Hennepin County awarded $845,000 in grants to food security organizations to collect, process and redistribute edible food.

Partnering to improve health

Hennepin County also has partnered with the University of Minnesota Extension's SuperShelf program to help food shelves make more fresh foods available. Extension provides expertise to help food shelves make updates to support shopper choice, while the county provides funding to purchase cooling units, shelving and signage. Learn more about the effort.