Ramsey County will provide $450,000 to local food shelves and to buy infant formula as the federal shutdown continues, county officials announced Tuesday.
The one-time funding includes $380,000 to local food shelves for county residents and $70,000 will be reserved to purchase infant formula if there are significant disruptions to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, according to county officials.
“The federal shutdown continues to have the greatest impact on our most vulnerable residents,” said Ramsey County Board of Commissioners Chair Rafael Ortega in a statement. “The recent court decision directing the federal government to continue SNAP benefits is a positive step, though its full impact remains to be seen. Families and children cannot wait — we remain focused on ensuring they have access to food and essential resources right now.”
The city of St. Paul launched a food drive this week to assist SNAP recipients. For more information go to stpaul.gov/news/city-saint-paul-food-drive-2025
Food shelves
Meanwhile, the county’s funding will go to 11 food shelves serving county residents, which were selected from an existing list of contracted providers based on location and number of residents served.
Funds will need to be used by the food shelves by the end of the year.
The 11 food shelves are: Keystone Community Services; Neighborhood House; Open Cupboard; Sanneh Foundation; Merrick Community Services; White Bear Area Food Shelf; Corner Shelf; Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES); Hallie Q. Brown Community Center; Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul-Department of Indian Work; and Vineyard Community Services (VCS).
35,000 Ramsey County households impacted
There are approximately 35,500 households, or 68,500 individuals, in the county that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Approximately 3,500 county households, or 9,800 individuals, receive food assistance through the federally-funded Minnesota Family Investment Program. Both programs stopped food assistance Nov. 1 due to a lack of funding during the government shutdown.
Last month, some states also warned they only had enough money to operate their food assistance programs until mid-November due to lack of funding during the shutdown. The county plans to allocate the $70,000 reserved for infant formula if the federal shutdown results in a significant disruption to WIC benefits.
WIC recently received $450 million in funding from the Trump administration, a senior administration official told the Associated Press on Monday. More than 17,900 Ramsey County residents currently receive WIC benefits, which provides nutrition education, health referrals and food benefits for pregnant women, mothers, children and infants.
SNAP and MFIP provide approximately $14 million per month in benefits for county residents and recipients receive an average of $170 per month for food through SNAP.
To learn more about current impacts on federal and state funding and to be directed to Ramsey County’s Food Resources page, go to tinyurl.com/2m4jamty.
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