How the looming loss of SNAP funding impacts Roseville
Meeting food support needs in the community
On November 1, people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not receive their monthly food support benefits, due to a federal government shutdown.
SNAP is the largest anti-hunger program in America, specifically designed to help people with low-paying jobs or people who are unemployed pay for groceries, including children, seniors, and disabled people. Colloquially, this program is often referred to as “food stamps,” but most states, including Minnesota, issue these funds on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
The federal government is shut down because the House of Representatives has not passed a budget resolution and is currently on recess. The United States Food and Drug Administration (USDA) could use contingency funds to maintain SNAP funding, but as of the publishing of this article, has not.
Approximately 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 5 children in Ramsey County are food insecure. There are 2,392 people in Roseville enrolled in SNAP and 252 enrolled in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) as of Oct. 28, 2025, according to data provided by Ramsey County to the Roseville Reader. For the whole 55113 zip code (which includes Roseville, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, and Little Canada), the numbers jump to 3,233 enrolled in SNAP and 357 enrolled in MFIP. People receiving MFIP benefits also receive SNAP, but those numbers are not duplicated in this data.
“For a lot of people, without SNAP they don't have much else to spend on food,” Julia McCarthy, Director of Programs at Keystone Community Services, said in an interview. “We are already serving people who receive SNAP because SNAP isn't enough to pay for all the food that they need.”
Visiting the food shelf is a way to free up low-income families’ limited dollars to pay for things like rent, healthcare, and utilities.
“We know there are a lot of people who receive SNAP that are not visiting food shelves, and they may start to do so because they won't have a choice,” McCarthy said.
Keystone was already anticipating needing to meet a rising need after the changes in the "Big Beautiful Bill" are implemented, which changes work requirements for SNAP eligibility and restrictions for non-citizens.
"We were not expecting everyone on SNAP to be impacted at the same time. We don't know how long it will last," McCarthy said.
Keystone Community Services
Keystone Community Services is a nonprofit founded in 1939 that operates a food shelf in Saint Paul, Foodmobiles which travel to different locations—many in Roseville—to distribute food, grocery delivery, Meals on Wheels distribution, and services for young people, families, and seniors. Keystone used to have a brick-and-mortar location in Roseville, on Hamline Ave and County Rd. C, but it closed in 2019 when the landlord sold the building. That’s when Keystone pivoted to serving the Roseville area with the Foodmobile instead.
In 2024, Keystone served 8,108 Roseville area residents through food shelves, Foodmobiles, and food shelf home delivery.
People can receive food from Keystone once a month plus four additional visits per year, for a total of sixteen times a year.
“Our philosophy is to try and give people a good amount of food that will last them a little while, but we try not to be anyone's primary source of food,” McCarthy said. “Just like any food shelf, I think what they get from us is a help, but it's not a substitute for things like SNAP or regular groceries.”
Keystone provides access to food throughout the Roseville Area via two Foodmobiles—food shelves on wheels—that distribute food at eight Roseville area partnership sites each month. These sites are:
- Owasso Gardens
- Roseville Senior House
- Garden Terrace
- Ramsey County Library – Roseville
- Aŋpétu Téča Education Center
- New Life Presbyterian Church
- Saint Michael’s Lutheran Church
- M Health Fairview (Roselawn Clinic in Maplewood)
Keystone also holds Free Farmers Markets to distribute fresh produce at Roseville Covenant Church and Galilee Lutheran Church.
Keystone's brick-and-mortar Food Center/food shelf is located at 1800 University Ave W, Saint Paul, MN 55104.
Financial Support
Besides helping people who are experiencing food insecurity or crisis, Keystone can also provide one-time financial help, which is often related to housing and eviction prevention, McCarthy explained.
Keystone has already seen an increase in calls for financial assistance. At this time last year, Keystone was getting around 200 to 250 calls per month. Now it’s about 300 calls a month, McCarthy said. Now with SNAP and potentially WIC suspended in the future too, and changes to Medicaid eligibility requirements, Keystone is expecting to see a further increase in housing-related requests. In 2024, Keystone distributed $29,868 through their financial crisis assistance program to 61 households in Roseville, chiefly to avoid eviction and stabilize housing.
Another program that is suspended due to the federal government shutdown is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which provides assistance to eligible people for paying heating bills, repairing or replacing heating systems, and refilling propane tanks.
Bring Me the News recently reported that last year over 125,000 Minnesota households were enrolled in the program.
"With no end in sight, the longer the shutdown lasts, the more at risk low-income households are of not being able to pay their bills and having their heat shut off," the article stated.
Food Support Pipeline
Keystone does not receive any direct federal funding, but does receive a state grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that is funded by the USDA. That funding was frozen for about a month earlier in the year and Keystone has been informed that once that funding runs out, they will not fund it again in 2026. Keystone anticipates that money to run out in March. This money is used to purchase food from farmers.
Keystone purchases food at wholesale prices and receives free food from American farmers, purchased by the USDA and then donated to food banks. This program is called The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Most of Keystone’s food is sourced from Second Harvest Heartland, the food bank serving the area.
“TEFAP has decreased 30 percent compared to where it was with the Biden administration. So we’re feeling that too. There’s not as much free food available to us, so we’re having to purchase more,” McCarthy said.
Typically 30-40 percent of Keystone’s food comes from local grocery store overstock or items close to expiration. They’ve been getting less from grocery stores lately too. McCarthy said that may have to do with food costing more, resulting in grocery stores being more careful with their ordering and having less leftover to donate.
“We're kind of getting squeezed from both sides, because we're in a position where need is increasing and our funding and sources of food are decreasing,” McCarthy said.
Food Insecurity in Roseville Area Schools
In the 2024-2025 school year, 49% of students in Roseville Area Schools qualified for educational benefits. This means they met low-income requirements and are eligible for free or reduced activity fees, test fees, transportation fees, college application fees, and community programs. Before the Minnesota Legislature made school lunch free for all Minnesotans, students who qualified for educational benefits would have received free or reduced-cost lunch at school. Any student whose household is participating in SNAP or MFIP is included in this data, as well as foster, homeless, or immigrant children.
For kids experiencing food insecurity at home, school meals are a reliable source of nutrition.
“While we have yet to experience an increase in people seeking access to food resources, we remain ready should the need arise,” Carrie Ardito, Executive Director of Communications at Roseville Area Schools, told the Roseville Reader.
All breakfast, lunch, and "super snack" are served at no-cost to all children in the district. Roseville Area Schools also has a food shelf for students and families who need food assistance and school social workers are able to provide additional food shelf resources for families in need. Elementary schools in the district also have access to Every Meal for home weekend food support.
Every Meal
Every Meal is a nonprofit organization based in Roseville dedicated to addressing what they call the “Weekend Food Gap.” Families who need extra food support on the weekends can opt-into a program to receive a bag of groceries in their students’ backpack on Fridays to take home. No qualifications are required and no information is collected by Every Meal.
“Families can choose from five food bag options tailored to various cultural, dietary, and situational needs and preferences,” Lindsey Torkilsen, Vice President at Every Meal, told the Roseville Reader.
All food bags contain 4-5 pounds of food, including non-perishable fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains. Every child in a family can be enrolled, so if there are three kids in a family, they can receive three meal bags on Fridays. Volunteers discreetly place the bag of food in students’ backpacks for them to take home.
“Hunger affects more than just health. Beyond increased illness and developmental delays, kids can have poor academic performance, behavioral challenges, and difficulty adapting socially and emotionally. But consistent access to nourishing food can change their trajectory. When kids receive weekend food support, they’re better able to learn, grow, and thrive,” Torkilsen shared.
Every Meal has been partnering with Roseville Area Schools since 2015 and serves more than 300 students weekly across eight elementary schools.
“We appreciate their partnership in fighting child hunger together,” Torkilsen said.
Every Meal does not receive federal funding and never has.
“As a community-funded organization, donations help us fill the food gaps that government programs don’t reach, especially on the weekends,” Torkilsen said.
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Roseville Community Response
In response to the upcoming suspension of SNAP benefits, several Roseville area residents have organized a food drive to benefit Keystone. It was organized virtually through the Buy Nothing Roseville/Little Canada/Falcon Heights MN group on Facebook. Individuals are collecting food at their homes and can be contacted through that group on Facebook.
For a public option, Makwa Coffee is participating in the food drive too, with a big blue barrel for collecting items for Keystone through the month of November. In the first 48 hours of the food drive, Makwa received 440 pounds of food which was delivered to Keystone on Oct. 27 by the Buy Nothing group volunteers.
Items for Keystone will also be accepted at the Halloween Party at Lauderdale City Hall on Friday, Oct. 31 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Most Needed Items:
- Cereal
- Canned fruit
- Quick-to-prepare meals
- Canned meat and proteins (tuna, stews, chicken, etc.)
- Cooking staples (flour, sugar, cooking oil, etc.)
- Peanut butter
- Pasta
- Culturally specific items (soy sauce, fish sauce, masa, etc.)
- Baby care items (baby food, formula, wipes, diapers, etc.)
- Hygiene items (deodorant, bar soap, shampoo, conditioner, feminine care items, etc.)
Only donate new, unexpired items.
Providing food donations is helpful, but sending financial donations is even better, McCarthy said. Keystone can stretch those dollars further by purchasing food at wholesale prices and can expand their capacity to distribute the food when they use funds to pay for employee compensation, rent, supplies, and other overhead costs.
“We've gotten grants from the Roseville Area Community Foundation. We've gotten contributions from a lot of the Roseville faith organizations. Those relationships have been really valuable to us over time,” McCarthy said. “We hope that as things may get difficult in the next month to years, that they will continue to stay with us.”
Keystone also relies on volunteers to help distribute food at Foodmobiles, the food shelf, and grocery delivery services.
Every Meal also accepts physical donations and financial donations for the food bags that go directly to students. Like Keystone, Every Meal can make your dollars stretch further when they purchase food from bulk suppliers.
Every Meal also needs volunteers to help with building orders, working in the warehouse, driving deliveries, distributing bags into backpacks at schools, packing food bags, and more.
Find Food Support
If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, check out the following links for more information on local resources around Roseville, MN and Ramsey County:
To receive food from a Keystone food shelf or Foodmobile, all you need to do is show up. No appointment is necessary and it’s on a first-come, first-served basis. The first time you visit you will fill out an intake form, but you will not be asked to provide proof of income or proof of identity. You will be asked to write down your income, contact information, and any other family members in your household so that you receive the right amount of food. Keystone will not ask about immigration status. At the food shelf in Saint Paul, there are staff who speak Spanish, Hmong, Karen, and English. There is a Spanish speaker on the Foodmobile team, according to McCarthy, but it depends on who is working at which site each day.
View this calendar to find out where the Foodmobile will be next.
If you have school-age kids and want to enroll in Every Meal to receive food for the weekends, contact your child’s school to sign-up. You can find out if your school is participating here.
If you know about other food support resources in Roseville or ways to get involved to address the hunger crisis in our community, share about it in the comments.
