Minnesota Shutdown Could Increase Demand for Neighbors, Inc.

Neighbors, Inc. provides services including a food shelf, clothing, financial counseling and emergency cash grants to the needy in northern Dakota County.

If a shutdown lingers, their work will be needed more than ever.

“Our services will be going on as usual,” said Joan Rhodes, emergency services manager at Neighbors, Inc., which is based in South St. Paul.

Neighbors, Inc. doesn’t operate any state or federally funded programs, according to Executive Director John Kemp, but it does receive perishable food staples for its foodshelf through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which will be forced to stop distribution July 5.

TEFAP provides about 20 percent of the food distributed by Second Harvest Heartland, a hub of food distribution for food shelves throughout the state.

The food shelf at Neighbors mostly relies on donations from the community, so it will be able to operate without the program, “but it all helps," Kemp added.

Neighbors also serves as the distribution point in northern Dakota County for the federally-sponsored Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which offers the Mothers and Children Program (MAC) and the Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS).

This program is administered by the Minnesota State Department of Health, but was deemed an essential service by a .

The agency’s capacity to carry out its duties would be “significantly diminished” in the case of a shutdown, according to a release from the MDH. Only 189 employees will report to work on Tuesday to provide critical services, just about 13 percent of the agency’s total workforce.

Calming Fears

The fear of a shutdown over the past week has increased demand for the expertise and resources of Neighbors, Inc. volunteers and staff, who are doing a fair share of education for clients worried that things like food support and Minnesota Family Investment Program benefits will be cut.

“They hear rumors; they panic. We’re seeing a lot of people coming in that are very agitated,” said Rhodes.

In addition, Neighbors has been receiving calls from state workers who have lost their jobs and will not be receiving a paycheck.

The timing for increased demand is not ideal. Counselors double- and triple-booked appointments to determine the needs and available services for families in crisis before the three-day weekend.

Food shelf donations typically dip in the summer, reaching low points in August. Meanwhile, June was a particularly busy month for food shelf demand. Rhodes said over 300 families received food shelf support last month.