Total federal funding in fiscal year 2025 for food systems and access
The State of Minnesota expects to receive $2.3 billion in federal funds for 52 food related programs administered by six state agencies.
| Agency | Total # of programs | Total federal funds for food related programs (FY25) |
|---|
| Agriculture | 7 | $4,334,000 |
|---|
| Children, Youth, and Families | 6 | $1,458,402,000 |
|---|
| Education | 21 | $429,808,000 |
|---|
| Health | 16 | $159,067,000 |
|---|
| State Academies | 2 | $193,000 |
|---|
| Total | 52 | $2,295,085 |
|---|
The top five federal funded food related programs make up 98 percent of the federal funding flowing through the state for food related programs. These programs, in order of highest to lowest spend, are:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Woman, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC)
- School lunch
- School breakfast
- Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
SNAP alone makes up 74 percent of the federal funding for food related programs and seven percent of the total FY25 federal funding flowing through the state.
Top five federally funded food access programs
| Agency | Program | Total federal funds (FY25) |
|---|
| Children, Youth, and Families | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | $1,696,843,000 |
|---|
| Health | Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program | $154,195,000 |
|---|
| Education | School lunch | $244,201,000 |
|---|
| Education | School breakfast | $79,118,000 |
|---|
| Education | Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) | $70,614,000 |
|---|
Who is served by these programs?
Last year SNAP served more than 600,000 Minnesotans and issued $877.7 million food benefits:
- 36% children
- 20% adults with children
- 18% seniors
- 14% adults with a disability
- 2% Other adult, working
- 10% Other adult, not working
Minnesota Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs
Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Child Nutrition programs Reimbursement primarily goes to food. This can be food from a variety of sources, including local farmers in the community.
Child and Adult Care Food Program
37 million meals reimbursed last year for licensed child care centers and family child care programs.
- Licensed Child Care Centers and At-Risk sites
- Reimbursed more than 19 million meals
- Including more than 4 million breakfasts and 5.3 million lunches to childcare centers.
- Licensed Family Child Care businesses
- Reimbursed over 18 million meals (breakfast, lunch and snacks) to children in their care resulting in $29 million dollars directly to these businesses to assist in purchasing healthy nutritious meals to children before the reach school age.
School nutrition programs
More than 150 million meals (breakfast and lunch) were served to students last year.
- School meal programs ensure students are ready; students who are hungry struggle in school.
- The programs increase attendance, reduce behavioral issues, and improve the learning environment
- The School Meal Lunch and Breakfast Programs provides health, education and economic benefits, as well as reduces grocery costs.
- Universal free meals have a positive effect on language arts and math test scores of all students.
- Every $1 spent on school meals generates $2 in health and economic benefits.
- Areas where schools offer universal free school meals results in as much as 2.5% lower prices at surrounding grocery stores.
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
Reimbursed 5.8 million meals for children last summer.
Summer food operates in areas where we know the need is highest. However, only 1 in 6 children who are eligible for free school meals take a meal from a summer food service site which is why SUN Bucks (formerly Summer EBT) is so important to reach children and ensure students have food to eat during the summer.
The impact
During Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024, an average of 101,300 low-income women, infants, and children up to age five participated monthly in the Minnesota WIC program. These programs are important work, economic, and business supports, as well as long-term cost savers.
SNAP
SNAP spending multiplies throughout the economy as businesses supplying the food and other goods—and their employees—have additional funds to make purchases of their own.
- $1 in SNAP results in $1.60 increase in US Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Proposed cuts to SNAP are estimated to result in $302.7 million in lost economic output, $181.2 million in reduced state GDP, and 1,500 jobs in Minnesota alone.
WIC
WIC supports grocery stores, improves health and education outcomes, reduces costs, and increases productivity.
- Every $1 invested in WIC saves $2.48 in medical, educational, and productivity costs.
- During FFY 2024, MN WIC participants purchased $93.2 million in WIC foods at local grocery stores.
- Research has documented $1.77 to $3.13 reductions in Medicaid costs for every $1 spent on WIC
School meal lunch and breakfast programs
The School Meal Lunch and Breakfast Programs provides health, education and economic benefits, as well as reduces grocery costs.
- Universal free meals have a positive effect on English language arts and math test scores of all students.
- Every $1 spent on school meals generates $2 in health and economic benefits.
- Using a stylized model of grocery demand, it is estimated that local adoption of school meals at no costs to families reduced grocery costs for the median household by approximately 4.5 percent
Reductions in SNAP will have a dramatic impact on an already strained local hunger relief system
Food shelf visits continue to rise with nearly 9 million visits in 2024, breaking records for the fourth year in a row.
- Children 3,230,534 (36%)
- Seniors 977,602 (11%)
- Adults 7,705,574 (53%)
More than 300 food shelves and Tribal food programs rely heavily on the following:
- The Emergency Food Assistance Program - TEFAP (Federal funding)
- Minnesota Food Shelf Program - MFSP (State funding)
- Local community and corporate donations
