Sponsor: County Manager's Office
Title
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Food and Infant Nutrition Support in Response to Federal Shutdown
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Recommendation
recommendation
None - for discussion only.
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Background and Rationale
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The federal government shut down on October 1, 2025. Since that time, Ramsey County has been tracking impacts to federally funded programs. Due to a lack of funding caused by the federal government shutdown, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) food benefits will not be issued for November until the shutdown ends or the federal government issues further guidance. SNAP is a federal nutrition-assistance program enabling low-income households to purchase food. Ramsey County has about 35,500 active SNAP cases, providing benefits to about 68,500 individuals. The County has an additional 3,500 MFIP cases, providing benefits to about 9,800 individuals. These two programs combined provide about $14 million per month in benefits for Ramsey County residents. Individuals receive an average of $170 per month for food through the SNAP program.
In addition, funding for the Women Infant Children (WIC) is also at risk. WIC is a federally funded, state-administered nutrition program. It provides nutrition education, healthy food benefits, and health referrals to support the growth and wellbeing of pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children. Over 17,900 Ramsey County residents currently receive WIC benefits. WIC provides a monthly food package - loaded onto an eWIC card - with funds to be used for specific nutritious foods such as milk, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, eggs, and infant formula or baby foods, tailored to the participant’s age and nutritional needs.
If these critical benefits are disrupted by the federal government shutdown, Ramsey County residents who rely on them will experience heightened financial hardships and food needs.
Ramsey County has a robust network of emergency food providers who support residents. They play a critical role at supporting families and individuals most at risk due to food insecurity. To respond to the immediate needs of residents unable to access SNAP and WIC benefits as a result of the shutdown, Ramsey County will partner with local area emergency food providers to infuse funding for additional food and infant formula. The funding will be a tiered investment based on the number of residents served and must be spent by December 31, 2025. Staff will monitor spending and if needed, the County Manager will make reallocations as needed.
Allocations were determined to food shelves that:
• Have an existing cooperative contract with Ramsey County.
• Have a physical food shelf location in Ramsey County.
• Serve a larger number of individuals, based on data the state uses to distribute its food shelf funding. Slightly higher allocations were made to organizations that serve more individuals.
Ramsey County plans to allocate $70,000 to provide formula if there is a significant disruption to WIC benefits. Minnesota Department of Health WIC recently announced that they have enough funding to sustain the WIC program through late November. At this time, the county is working to determine the best method for distributing formula in the event of a disruption.
|
Food Shelf |
Investment |
|
Keystone Community Services |
$40,000 |
|
Neighborhood House |
$40,000 |
|
Open Cupboard |
$40,000 |
|
Sanneh Foundation |
$40,000 |
|
Merrick Community Services |
$40,000 |
|
White Bear Area Food Shelf |
$40,000 |
|
Corner Shelf |
$40,000 |
|
Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) |
$25,000 |
|
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center |
$25,000 |
|
Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul - Department of Indian Work |
$25,000 |
|
Vineyard Community Services (VCS) |
$25,000 |
|
Infant Formula Investment |
$70,000 |
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
$450,000 |
These additional resources cannot make up for the SNAP and WIC federal resources that are infused into our community through these resources. On October 28, 2025, the State of Minnesota committed $4 million of additional funding for emergency funding for food shelves in response to the shutdown. In addition, some Ramsey County jurisdictions are developing plans of support as well. The county encourages all community stakeholders and residents who are able to consider donating and supporting Ramsey County’s local emergency food ecosystem at this time.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Black, Asian, and Hispanic/Latine populations in Ramsey County generally rely on food benefits at higher rates than the white population. Although Black residents comprise about 13% of Ramsey County’s population, they account for approximately 37% of SNAP participants and 28% of WIC participants. Although Asian residents comprise about 15% of Ramsey County‘s population, they account for approximately 28% of SNAP recipients and 33% of WIC recipients. SNAP participation aligns closely with population share for the Hispanic/Latine community (8% of residents and 7% of SNAP recipients), whereas WIC participation is much higher at 23%.
Disruptions to SNAP and WIC benefits will have a disproportionate impact on the Black, Asian, and Hispanic/Latine populations in Ramsey County. Ramsey County aims to partially mitigate this impact by supporting local food shelves and ensuring that residents are aware of the resources they provide.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Based on the comprehensive community engagement that occurred for the Food Security Assessment in 2022, and the 2024/2025 Food Security Strategic Plan, community had primary input on how the county addressed food insecurity. Over 75 community agencies were interviewed and over 400 people were directly engaged on what the county’s response should be around advancing food security, this has been affirmed consistently with the continued engagement and feedback on the plans by the food security team. The primary strategy was strengthening the current safety-net system on the first response on addressing food insecurity and using the existing food distribution network through food shelves.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☒ Collaborate ☒ Empower
Fiscal Impact
$450,000 in funding from the Residents First Strategic Priority will be used for these investments. There are sufficient funds for this investment in 2025.
Last Previous Action
On December 12, 2023, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners heard from the Health and Wellness Service Team regarding the Advancing a Holistic Approach to Strengthening Families Strategic Priority workshop.
On November 22, 2022, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners heard from the Health and Wellness Service Team regarding the Food Security Assessment Findings.
Attachments
1. Food Security Strategic Plan
2. Food Security Assessment 2022