BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes up to $3,000,000 to be utilized for eligible costs to address food security for Hennepin County residents; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, in order to implement the above resolving clause, the County Administrator is authorized to make direct expenditures and enter into agreements in a total not to exceed amount of $3,000,000 for food distribution and delivery from May 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023; this authorization may include negotiating amendments and increasing the not to exceed amounts for existing agreements with providers, negotiating new agreements with providers, transferring funds to other units of government, or directly purchasing and distributing food; that following review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office, the Chair of the board be authorized to sign any agreements; and the Controller be authorized to transfer or disburse funds as directed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the above-referenced authorization by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued funding commitment by the county for these costs, operations, or services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, in order to implement the above resolving clauses and pursuant to Minn. Stat. §§ 383B.101 et seq., the County Administrator is authorized to effectuate the goals of this resolution, including but not limited to directing and coordinating county personnel and resources as needed to effectively address food security needs of Hennepin County residents.

Since the beginning of COVID, Hennepin County has now directed $5.8 million in funding to support our communities to become more food secure, focusing on ensuring access to culturally appropriate foods, particularly in areas of the county that are ‘food deserts,’ lacking easy access to healthy foods. In 2020, $3 million of CARES funding was designated in two separate Board Actions which went to a total of 79 organizations. The most common eligible requests included fresh food, non-perishable food, storage equipment and PPE supplies such as gloves, masks, and sanitizer. In 2021, $2.8 million of ARPA funding was designated to address food insecurity. That funding went to 75 providers in the community which resulted in over 1,250 events being held, over 303,000 people being served over 660,000 meals, and over 5.6 million pounds of food provided.

From our active and ongoing conversations with food distributors and food shelves across Hennepin County as well as the Minnesota Department of Human Services, we know that the need for food assistance continues to impact Hennepin County residents because of the pandemic. The economic hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create ever increasing and sustained demands on food banks, nonprofit providers, and community service partners to provide perishable and nonperishable food items, and culturally appropriate food such as halal meat and other vegetables for the different ethnic communities. Recent inflationary surges also create additional strains on families and community partners.

Current Request: The current request is to authorize funding in the amount of up to $3 million to nonprofit and community organization food distribution points throughout Hennepin County.