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Description

This project documents food access, barriers, production, and suggestions for improvement in the food system across a largely agricultural five-county (Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens, and Traverse) region in West-Central Minnesota. A variety of methods, including surveys, interviews, and focus groups, were used to gather data. Secondary (e.g., US Census, USDA Census of Agriculture) and historical (e.g., grocery store directories) data were also used in this project.

Approximately half of household food security survey respondents (N= 283) had in the last year at least worried about there not being enough money for food in their household. Respondents experiencing food insecurity were much less likely to be able to meet basic and/or special dietary needs. About 6% of the region’s 71,000 people receive SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) benefits, and visits to some emergency food providers have increased by over 50% in the past two years. The number of grocery stores in the region has decreased by half since 1990, and most communities in the region no longer have a grocery store. More than three-fourths of survey respondents indicated most of their grocery shopping is done at Walmart (43%), Aldi (25%), Cub Foods (6%), or Target (2%).

In the past few years, new large scale local vegetable production and processing has increased and includes carrots, dried beans, lettuces and herbs, though most produce consumed in the region still is imported. Despite large numbers of livestock (meat) and prodigious volumes of milk production in the region, there are only a few small meat processors and no dairy processors. To help address these issues, the Growing Grant County project is training youth in Ashby and West Central School districts to grow vegetables in greenhouses and to process meat.

Household food security survey, focus group, and interview data all indicate that the price of food (groceries) is a major concern for a significant proportion of the regional population. Economic issues, transportation/distance to food sources, and time of year were the top barriers to food access noted by study participants. Participants also had a variety of suggestions for addressing food security-related issues in the region, including increasing SNAP benefits, supporting more local food production, processing, and preservation, to increase freshness of produce, finding ways to improve transit options or reduce distance between residents and food retailers, and making sure that emergency food providers stock quick/easy and non-perishable foods for those experiencing food and/or housing insecurity.

Publication Date

1-2025

Publisher

Benson Center for Community Partnerships

City

Morris, MN

Disciplines

Food Studies

Primo Type

Report

West Central Minnesota Regional Food Assessment

Included in

Food Studies Commons

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