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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Crunch Time at the State Capitol for Food Shelf Funding

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Monday, May 6, 2013   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Another busy week at the Minnesota State Capitol, including House and Senate lawmakers trying to reconcile their separate versions of a Health and Human Services budget. Among the provisions in the bill where there are differences is how much funding should go to Minnesota food shelves.

According to Samantha Dykema, who runs the Fruit of the Vine food shelf for Duluth Vineyard Church, in 2012 figures combined, all the pantries in the Duluth area served nearly 60,000 people.

"Last year we served just over 57,000 individuals at our local food shelves, so the need is there, and them putting this forward and getting more funding would benefit so many," she said.

The bill passed by the House would provide about $2.5 million for food-shelf funding over the next two years. The Senate version would increase that to $3.5 million. It's estimated that about one in ten households in the state is food-insecure.

Dykema said that a good portion of those needing help do have jobs, but they're part-time or the wages don't cover the ever-growing cost of living.

"People are working," she declared. "I mean, there are people working two or three jobs to be able to provide for their family, but there are other things like medical bills, there's rent, there's insurance, there are all these other things, so the funding to cover food, it's not something that should be taken away."

Democratic-Farmer-Labor State Senator Melisa Franzen, who authored her chamber's legislation for food shelf funding, said 40 percent of those helped are children, and use is at an all-time high.

"Just in 2012, what I was told, over 3 million visits were made to food shelves," she said. "So that's just one year. And the other piece is that food shelves are vital families in need."

In addition to increasing the need for food shelves, Franzen said, the economic downturn has also led to fewer people being able to donate.

More information on Franzen's bill is at bit.ly/16HS7UK.




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