Impact & Financials

Loaves & Fishes Spoon Graphic

The Challenge

Food is a basic need that must be met daily. However, we often hear from our guests that the cost of food is one of the first items in their family’s monthly budget to be cut as it is one of the only items within their control. Knowing that food is medicine and proper nutrition increases our overall physical health and mental well-being, it is critical that members of our community are able to reliably access healthy, affordable food.

Our organization has been working to alleviate hunger in Minnesota for over four decades. However, food insecurity is a long-standing and widespread challenge many Minnesotans continue to experience. 

Minnesota’s Economic and Food Challenges

01

Lack of Access to Healthy Foods

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota ranks 7th worst in the nation for the share of residents with access to healthy foods and ranks in the bottom third of states nationwide for number of grocery stores.

02

Increased Household Financial Strain

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), a Minnesota household where there are two adult partners working full-time with one child is in the red $466.80 every month after paying for their most basic expenses which includes, housing, food, transportation, childcare, healthcare, taxes, and other necessities.

03

Rising Food Insecurity

According to the latest report from Feeding America, since 2021 there has been a 31% increase in individuals experiencing food insecurity and a 44% increase in children experiencing food insecurity in the United States – the highest rate and number of individuals and children since 2014 and the largest one-year increase in food insecurity since 2008. 

Our Response

View Impact Report 2024

Our objective is to alleviate hunger and food insecurity while sourcing and distributing food responsibly and sustainably. We count the number of meals served, adhere to strict nutrition standards, rescue millions of pounds of leftover food otherwise destined for landfills, and serve areas of greatest need as defined by poverty rates, food desert distinctions, and other measures of inequity.

Who We Serve

We offer our services to anyone who is food insecure and vulnerable. This includes Minnesotans of all ages, gender identities, races and ethnicities, immigrant status’, family structures, or religious perspectives. Some are experiencing generational poverty, are precariously housed, live paycheck to paycheck, and are disabled, unemployed, or under-employed. Many are veterans, retired on a fixed income, and have underlying health conditions.

We listen to our guests’ stories and experiences each and every day. We have learned that many Loaves & Fishes guests are:

  • Experiencing physical and/or mental health challenges that prevent them from preparing their own healthy meals
  • Working as caretakers for their friends and families and prepared meals help ease their burden
  • Currently experiencing homelessness or in transitional housing which limits their ability to prepare meals even when they have grocery items
  • Working as public servants, educators, or professionals who offer their talents in many other fields that do not compensate them with a livable wage

Our Guests’ Experience

According to the guests who self-reported their experiences in our latest anonymous and optional survey:

reported our meals help
them feel better;

reported Loaves & Fishes has met their needs at least a little bit; and

reported our staff and volunteers treat them with respect.

Read More About Our Impact & Financials

Impact Reports

IRS 990s

IRS Letter of Determination

Audits

Available upon request. Contact our office:

office@loavesandfishesmn.org