Chris Hahn

RSVPs are requested. To RSVP or ask questions, contact Senior Lending Director Marcia Haley at marciah@smifoundation.org.

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Registration closes Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m.

Published November 5, 2025 

Originally Published art rootrivercurrent.org

By David Phillips, October 27, 2025

At the time of publishing this article, the United States was within days of hundreds of thousands of families losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the federal government’s shutdown. In Minnesota alone, according to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’ office, thousands of Minnesotans could lose access to nutrition assistance beginning November 1 which will only exacerbate an already difficult time for families in need. To help bridge the gap, he announced, the state will allocate $4 million in new funding for Minnesota food shelves.

In visiting local food shelves, Root River Current contributor David Phillips has discovered, families across the greater Root River Valley are finding circumstances here just as challenging as across the rest of the state. Here’s his story.

SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA – Local food shelves are reporting increased, even record, numbers of visits in 2025. That aligns with statewide data that shows one in five Minnesota households – more than one in four that have children – is food insecure, according to a study by Second Harvest Heartland, a Minnesota hunger relief organization. The study showed that 18 percent of the state’s population is already supported by the emergency food system.

Several of the region’s cities, even as small as Wykoff, operate food shelves to help those in need. Most rely on volunteers for staffing with funds from donations and grants to stock the shelves.

Food shelf supplies for area communities largely come from Channel One, a regional food bank in Rochester that serves more than 100 programs in southeastern Minnesota.

Although the amount of food insecurity in this region is slightly lower than the state as a whole, Channel One reports that food shelf visits in the area continue to increase rapidly, mirroring state and national trends. The regional food bank served 296,000 households in 2023 and more than 390,000 in 2024.

Record visits to area food shelves in 2025

The Spring Valley Area Food Shelf has seen a 20 percent increase in average household visits through the first nine months of 2025 compared to 2024.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE AT THE ROOT RIVER CURRENT

For Immediate Release – Owatonna, MN October 16,2025

Through a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) will award $1.3 million in competitive grants to businesses in southern Minnesota to invest in existing operations or planned growth.

Grant awards will range from $10,000 to $50,000 and can be used for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, equipment, and other similar expenses that occur in the regular course of business.

Grant awards will be limited and approved on a competitive basis. Not all eligible businesses will receive a grant. Primary business operations must be located in SMIF’s region, which includes 20 counties and one Native nation. Businesses must earn $750,000 or less in gross revenue (based on prior year’s (2024) taxes) to be eligible. Additional eligibility requirements are listed on SMIF’s website.

The grant cycle opens October 16, 2025 and will close on November 17, 2025. For the application and guidelines visit smifoundation.org/promise. Contact Melissa Langer (melissal@smifoundation.org) or Brian Conzemius (brianc@smifoundation.org) with questions.

Want to know if this grant might be a good fit for your business?  Download or complete Spring Valley EDA Grant Qualification Checklist here!