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Hunger-Free Minnesota: Executive Summaries of Reports
Hunger-Free Minnesota is a statewide coalition of Minnesota community, corporate and hunger-relief partners. Formed in 2010, it grew out of a 2008 partnership between the University of Minnesota's Food Industry Center and Second Harvest Heartland to quantify the nature and extent of hunger in Minnesota.
Read more about Hunger-Free Minnesota
Contents of this Web Page:
SNAP Access Study
Cost-Benefit Hunger Impact Study
Hunger in America Study
Map the Meal Gap
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SNAP Access Study
Here are highlights from The Boston Consulting Group's SNAP Access Study
Minnesota: More expensive, less effective
According to the report, based upon 2008 federal and state data, Minnesota's administration of SNAP is more expensive and less effective than other states. Only five states have higher costs to administer SNAP, and Minnesota trails all but seven states in SNAP participation with only 302,000 of the state's 670,000 income-eligible residents receiving benefits.
The Boston Consulting Group suggests that by enrolling currently eligible but non-participating individuals into the program, Minnesota would add $210 million to its annual economy as a result of direct benefits and a multiplier effect as new recipients shop in local food stores. And by bringing the state's SNAP per-case cost closer to the national average, Minnesota would potentially save $29 million annually in administrative costs. In total, by becoming a cost-effective and high-performing administrator of SNAP, Minnesota could see nearly $240 million in annual economic stimulus, local jobs and savings.
Barriers to participation
Three primary factors account for 95 percent of the reason 55 percent of income-eligible Minnesotans are currently not enrolled in SNAP.
- 169,000 people do not believe they are eligible for enrollment.
- 130,000 people are deterred by cumbersome administrative requirements.
- 52,000 people believe there is a social stigma to accepting "food stamp" benefits.
Breaking down the barriers
After uncovering the primary reasons why Minnesotans are not participating in SNAP, the Boston Consulting Group goes one step further and identifies six initiatives to break down the barriers to participation and begin reducing the 100-million meal shortfall in Minnesota by helping more Minnesotans enjoy the nutritional benefits available to them. According to the Boston Consulting Group, implementing these initiatives could add at least 148,000 eligible participants to the program.
- Implement a heightened awareness campaign.
- Initiate an aggressive enrollment outreach effort.
- Provide a phone interview option.
- Cross-reference eligibility with other support programs
- Simplify the eligibility criteria.
- Migrate from a county-directed to a state-directed program.
Changing the tide
The Boston Consulting Group's SNAP Access Study clearly suggests that there are ethical, political and economic reasons for Minnesota to become a more cost-effective and high-performing administrator of SNAP. From an ethical standpoint, 178,000 additional Minnesotans would be adequately nourished, which would reduce the overall shortfall in meals for Minnesotans in need. From a political standpoint, Minnesota would capture federal tax dollars. And from an economic standpoint, the state could see $240 million in economic stimulus, savings and local jobs.
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Cost-Benefit Hunger Impact Study
Hunger costs Minnesotans at least $1.2 billion every year.
Presented by Target and the University of Minnesota Food Industry Center.
http://www.hungerfreemn.org/hunger-in-mn/hunger-statistics/cost-benefit-study
We know that hunger is present and, in fact, prevalent in Minnesota. We also know that hunger’s severity ranges from simply sacrificing the quality of food eaten to going consecutive days without eating. And, we know that hunger is typically accompanied by the uncertainty of where the next meal will come from.
While some people may believe that hunger only impacts those individuals who are hungry and impacts them only in that their stomachs grumble, research proves that the effects of hunger are actually much broader, much more complex, and much more troubling. In an effort to identify the true individual and societal costs of hunger in Minnesota as well as the possible financial benefits of ending hunger in Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Food Industry Center analyzed existing hunger-related research. The landmark study, underwritten by Target, is the first of its kind to isolate the cost of hunger in Minnesota and to estimate the possible financial return when we invest in securing food access for all Minnesotans.
The University of Minnesota's Cost/Benefit Hunger Impact Study makes clear that hunger predisposes individuals to health problems and psychological and social dysfunction that result in higher healthcare costs and poorer education outcomes and, as a result, impose substantial monetary costs on all Minnesotans to the tune of between $1.26 billion and $1.62 billion per year (range takes into consideration both definitive and estimated costs). The study also presents evidence that public and private interventions aimed at preventing hunger are not just humanitarian acts or civic duties that benefit hungry individuals but are sound societal investments as well. For hunger relief organizations, the study underscores the necessity of working together to aggressively end hunger for the betterment of both those who are hungry and those who bear the cost.
Following is a breakdown of the most relevant findings in the Food Resource Center’s Cost/Benefit Hunger Impact Study.
Hunger Hurts Individuals
Those who are hungry experience significantly poorer health and education outcomes than do well nourished individuals. These negative outcomes define the individual cost of hunger—that is, the effect hunger has on the physical, emotional and mental well being of those who are hungry. Of particular concern is the toll hunger has on children.
- Hungry infants and young children suffer from iron deficiencies that affect their cognitive and physical development
- Hungry children are more likely to experience headaches, stomach aches, ear infections and colds
- Hungry teens are twice as likely to suffer from depression and five times more likely to commit suicide
- Hungry children have a heightened propensity for having isolating or anti-social behaviors and a greater need for special education
- Hungry children are nearly twice as likely to see a psychologist
- Hungry children tend to have lower math scores, are twice as likely to repeat a grade and three times as likely to be suspended from school
- Hungry pregnant women are at higher risk of having an underweight baby and/or a baby with severe birth defects
- Hungry mothers are more than twice as likely to suffer from excessive stress, depression and anxiety and to have lower self-esteem—conditions that likely contribute to multi-generational hunger
- Hungry adults are two and a half times as likely to be obese and twice as likely to be diabetic
- Hungry individuals report being in poor overall health relative to well nourished individuals
Hunger Hurts Communities
As noted above, hunger costs Minnesotans between $1.26 billion and $1.62 billion annually in direct and indirect healthcare and education costs. These preventable costs are the societal cost of hunger—the financial burden imposed on our communities and on society at large when we do not provide adequate nutrition for all Minnesotans.
- Minnesotans pay $925 million annually in direct medical expenses such as hospitalizations and medications required by hungry individuals
- Minnesotans pay $333 million annually in indirect medical expenses to help treat mild medical conditions such as headaches, stomach aches and colds that hungry individuals experience
- Minnesotans pay an estimated $59 million annually in additional indirect medical expenses to help treat child mental disorders, to manage teen suicide and to care for underweight newborns
- Minnesotans pay an estimated $61.7 million annually in special education programming required by many hungry children
- Because of poor educational performance and outcomes, hunger costs Minnesota an estimated $240 million in lost wages
Financial Benefits of Ending Hunger
Without question, there are significant financial benefits to ending hunger. Most obvious: if all Minnesotans were adequately nourished, the $1.26 billion to $1.62 billion Minnesotans pay annually in direct and indirect healthcare and education costs for hungry individuals would be eliminated. In addition, there are a number of public programs designed to help prevent and/or combat hunger, such as the Supplemental Food Service Program (SNAP), which, if used to their full potential, could offer significant individual and societal benefits.
- For each $1 invested by Minnesota in SNAP, the federal government contributes $7.50, and Minnesota sees $13.50 in economic activity that results from hungry individuals spending SNAP dollars in local grocery stores
- For each $1 invested by Minnesota in SNAP and $7.50 contributed by the federal government, Minnesota sees $20.55 in savings by averting some of the costs associated with hunger
- A $1 state investment in SNAP results in $34 in combined economic activity and savings in Minnesota
- It is estimated that the average annual SNAP benefit in Minnesota of $777 reduces the odds of hunger and food insecurity by 50 percent—if a hungry person costs the state of Minnesota up to $2,816 as noted above, that cost would be reduced to $1,408 by participating in SNAP
The Bottom Line
Hunger hurts individuals physically, emotionally and mentally, and it hurts communities financially. And while hunger’s toll in Minnesota may seem insurmountable, there are solutions at hand to end hunger. At first blush, those solutions appear to come with a significant financial cost. But this study contends that what at first blush looks like a cost is in reality an investment—an investment in humanity; an investment in community; an investment that has the potential to provide a significant financial return for Minnesota.
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Hunger in America
Hunger in Minnesota Study
Hard choices about where to spend money yield greater hunger for Minnesota's needy
By Feeding America and Mathematica Policy Research.
http://www.hungerfreemn.org/hunger-in-mn/hunger-statistics/hunger-in-america-study
The sad truth about hunger is that it is a reality regardless of whether the economy is expanding or receding. Without question, though, poor economic conditions wreak particular havoc on hunger: increasing the number of individuals who are food-insecure and straining the resources of the hunger relief community. Every four years, a national, in-depth survey of hunger called Hunger in America is conducted by the Feeding America network of food banks. Hunger in America 2010, designed and analyzed by Mathematica Policy Research, pulled data from 2009 to shed light on hunger"s prevalence on a state-by-state basis.
The Hunger in America/Minnesota Study, utilizing data from Feeding America"s six member food banks (Hunger-Free Minnesota"s community partners), indicates that hunger in Minnesota has doubled over the past five years and has begun to have an impact on more children than ever before. In addition, more and more Minnesotans have to choose between putting food on the table and paying their mortgage or rent, heating and medical bills, and transportation costs. According to the study, in 2009, in the breadbasket of the wealthiest nation in the world, more than 80,000 unique (non-repeat) individuals in Minnesota sought emergency hunger relief during any given week.
Here are highlights from the Hunger in America/Minnesota Study:
Demand is on the rise
Organizations and government assistance programs that provide hunger relief are on the front lines of what could be called a hunger crisis in Minnesota and are experiencing a growing demand for food.
- 85 percent of food pantries/shelves noted an increase in the number of clients seeking emergency hunger relief over the past five years.
- 71 percent of soup kitchens reported an increase in the number of clients seeking emergency hunger relief over the past five years.
- 35 percent of shelters reported an increase in the number of clients seeking emergency hunger relief over the past five years.
- 45 percent of those seeking emergency hunger relief also receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — an increase of nine percent over the past five years.
- 73 percent of households with children under the age of three seeking emergency hunger relief also participate in the Women, Infant and Children Program — a 15 percent increase over the past five years.
The face of hunger is changing
Often, it is presumed that those who are hungry are desperately poor, homeless and unemployed. While a percentage of food-insecure Minnesotans do fit this definition, the majority do not.
- 40 percent of those seeking emergency hunger relief are children under the age of 18 — a five percent increase over the past five years.
- Eight percent of those seeking emergency hunger relief are children under the age of five — a two percent increase over the past five years.
- 35 percent of households seeking emergency hunger relief include at least one employed adult.
- 81 percent of households with children under the age of 18 seeking emergency hunger relief are food-insecure, meaning they are at risk of hunger — an eight percent increase.
- 41 percent of households with children under the age of 18 seeking emergency hunger relief are very food-insecure, meaning they regularly experience hunger — a 12 percent increase.
Hard choices for the hungry
While many Minnesotans enjoy the security of gainful employment and money both for necessities and discretionary spending, many others do not. A growing percentage of hungry Minnesotans, in fact, must make difficult decisions about how to spend their limited resources every single day.
- 40 percent of those seeking emergency hunger relief chose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage — a 10 percent increase over the past five years.
- 41 percent of those seeking emergency hunger relief chose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel — a seven percent increase over the past five years.
- 27 percent of hungry Minnesotans must choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.
- 40 percent of those seeking emergency hunger relief choose between paying for food and paying for transportation.
The undeniable truth
Hunger is on the rise, with devastating consequences for more children, more families, more of our neighbors than ever before, and a weakened economy is only making matters worse. With the Hunger in America/Minnesota Study, hunger"s pervasive hold on Minnesota cannot be denied.
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Map the Meal Gap
100 Million Meals are Missing for Minnesotans in Need
Presented by Feeding America
http://www.hungerfreemn.org/hunger-in-mn/hunger-statistics/map-the-meal-gap
This new study, released by Feeding America in March, 2011, quantifies the reality of hunger in Minnesota:
- One in 10 Minnesotans — 583,000 of our neighbors — miss an average of 10 meals a month.
- That’s 100 million missing meals every year.
Methodology
In collaboration with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Nielsen Company, Map the Meal Gap has refined the original methodology from the 2009 Missing Meals study by factoring new data points such as unemployment rates, ethnicities, income needed to become food-secure, and Nielsen Company data about food pricing. Feeding America researchers then estimated how many people they think are at risk for hunger in each county in Minnesota.
One meal equals 1.2 pounds of food, according to the USDA, and carries a cost of $2.49 based on the Map the Meal Gap data from The Nielsen Company. The cost of a meal varies by county. Data is available for all 87 counties in Minnesota, as well as by congressional district.
Here are highlights from the Map the Meal Gap Study:
In addition to the finding that there was an annual shortfall of 100 million meals, other study highlights include:
- More than 583,000 Minnesotans are food-insecure. This means they do not always know where that will find their next meal.
- 52 percent of Minnesotans who are food-insecure do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and must rely on charitable emergency food programs to meet their meal needs.
- Minnesota families who are food-insecure need an additional $13.74 per person, per week, to meet their food needs.
- The five Minnesota counties with the highest rates of food insecurity are Clearwater, Kanabec, Wadena, Mille Lacs and Pine.
- Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District (covering eastern Hennepin County and parts of Ramsay and Anoka Counties) and Eighth Congressional District (covering northeastern Minnesota, including Duluth) have the highest rates of food insecurity, with both districts containing approximately 96,000 Minnesotans who are food-insecure.
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