Ashley Hall on need for food shelves in rural Minnesota
Ashley Hall is the executive director of Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls.
Courtesy of Ashley Hall
The pandemic continues, inflation is high and folks are struggling. That’s causing major demand at area food shelves — especially in rural areas.
Ashley Hall is the executive director of Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls. She joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what her area has been experiencing.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: Glad you're with us here on Minnesota Now from NPR News. I'm Cathy Wurzer. Of course, the pandemic continues. Inflation is high. Folks are struggling, especially in rural areas where transportation costs are also very high.
That's causing major demand at area food shelves. Ashley Hall is the Executive Director of the Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls. She's here to share what's happening in her area. Ashley, welcome to Minnesota Now.
ASHLEY HALL: Thank you so much.
CATHY WURZER: Tell us a little bit about Falls Hunger Coalition. Who do you serve?
ASHLEY HALL: Yeah, we serve a very large county-- Koochiching County up in northern Minnesota. So while our name, most people think it's just International Falls, it's not. We serve the entire county. It's a very rural county.
Most people up here do not have adequate access to a grocery store or to food, period. In fact, the USDA says that almost 20% of the people in Koochiching County are more than 10 miles away from a grocery store, which we to be probably more than that.
CATHY WURZER: Wow-- so a long way to go to get food.
ASHLEY HALL: Yes.
CATHY WURZER: I hear you've seen a big spike in demand since February. Tell us about that.
ASHLEY HALL: Yeah. We've seen a huge spike. It kind of started around the holidays, which is pretty typical. But in February, our numbers really began to jump. We started seeing record numbers across all of our food shelves. We have food shelves across the county, so not just in International Falls, and all the numbers really started to rise. Our food distribution numbers started to rise. And it's been really eye-opening who's walking in our doors and using our services.
CATHY WURZER: Who are these people? And what do you think is causing the demand?
ASHLEY HALL: A lot of the people, we're seeing a lot of senior citizens come in. They are having medical bills, which we know is a huge issue as well, aside from food. We're seeing a lot of families come in-- people that you probably wouldn't expect. We always say to people volunteering with us and to our staff, we're never here to judge anybody.
So somebody might drive up in a Benz and need our services, and we have no idea what's going on with them. Like I said, it could be a health issue. It could be they're taking in other family members who are going through hard times. So it's really eye-opening, really concerning, really I don't even know the words to use right now about who's coming in here.
CATHY WURZER: Do you think that the increase is being caused by the economy? What's going on, do you think?
ASHLEY HALL: I do. And our food bank is Second Harvest North Central in Grand Rapids, and we are in close contact with them. And we've discussed this a lot. And the economy absolutely has a lot to do with it.
As we all know, food is expensive. Up here, it's even more expensive because we only have our big grocery stores. We have two of them, but they're owned by one company. Gas is expensive, our utilities are expensive.
So as things go up, most people aren't getting paid more money. They're still living on the same budget. So it's hard.
CATHY WURZER: How are you responding to the need?
ASHLEY HALL: So Falls Hunger and, like I mentioned, Second Harvest, saw this coming in COVID, that this might happen-- this influx and this need for our services. So we started back at the end of 2020 adding locations around our county. So we have food shelves or food pantries, whichever you refer them to, in every one of our schools, including our community college.
And we've expanded our food distributions to three locations throughout our county. And then even recently last month, we opened up a new full food shelf on the outside of our county in Indus.
CATHY WURZER: Are you having any trouble keeping your food shelves stocked?
ASHLEY HALL: We are not. Second Harvest, I keep bringing them up because that's where we get 80% to 85% of our food from, they are doing a tremendous job keeping the food coming through the food bank, which, in turn, comes directly to us twice a month. So the food looks a little different.
We talk a lot about TFAP-- that's the emergency food assistance program, which is the food coming through from the government. And that food is steady. It's obviously not as much as it was during COVID, because there was a lot more funding for food. But it's still coming, but it doesn't look exactly the same.
So during COVID, we saw a lot more meat, a lot more canned goods, maybe even fresh produce coming through. Now, we're starting to see some different things-- we're seeing some snack foods, not quite as much meat, not quite as much produce. It's still coming, and we're still getting it. But it looks a little different.
And we personally are having to get creative on how we source our food. We do get food. We purchase food from our local grocery stores. We try to get local farmers and gardeners to donate. But we're having to purchase a little bit more because we know that everybody doesn't eat the same.
We are all so different. We all have different medical needs, different cultural needs. And so for us, it's really important that we're providing the food that people need for their diets and wants. And so that may mean purchasing food from a store, whereas before maybe we could get it from our food bank, or maybe it was donated from a big corporation.
CATHY WURZER: You're, as you say, in the midst of a really large spread out county, Koochiching. And I'm sure you're probably classified as a food desert, aren't you?
ASHLEY HALL: Absolutely. It means a little bit something different depending on where you are. But to us, food desert-- we use the word over and over again because we want people to really understand what's happening up here. People might have the money to go purchase food, but they might not have the means to get there.
And that's what being a food desert really is all about is people can't access the food. So if you do have the money to purchase it, you might not have the vehicle to get there, or maybe you can't drive your vehicle to get there, or it might be in January in the middle of 40-below temperatures and it's difficult for you to get there.
So all of those are a factor. We don't have a major transportation system up here. We do have one bus, and it literally just runs in the International Falls city limits. So there's not transportation for people to get around and access food or other services up here.
CATHY WURZER: So what are you doing to brace for, say, a potential recession?
ASHLEY HALL: We are doing everything we can in our power. And I know that sounds really cliche, but we had, for example, in our International Falls location, which we refer to as our hub location-- that's where our offices are, our biggest food shelf-- we did have a room in the middle of it that was where we did intake-- where we sat down with people and we tried to offer other services, figure out how we can help them get on their feet more.
And recently, I think back in April, we made the decision that we can't do that anymore because we have to use that for storage. So now that room is all we have pallets on the floor, we have shelves. And we're just storing the food in there because we're moving so much food every single day and every single week that we had to have that extra storage room.
So we are in the process of trying to find a larger location. We all know that takes manpower. It takes money. It's going to take a lot to do that. But we are in the process of just constantly trying to figure out how we can store more food and how we can access more food.
And like you said, because we are in a food desert, how are we going to get that food to people? So do we try to purchase another vehicle, or a bus, or a van, or something to try to get the food out besides our food distributions and our food shelves.
CATHY WURZER: So I'm kind of curious here, Ashley-- what's the permanent solution to the problem?
ASHLEY HALL: Oh my gosh, if I knew that answer.
CATHY WURZER: Right.
ASHLEY HALL: We talk a lot about that here. And just like we're all so different in what we eat, we're also different in what's going to help us get to the next step in our life which will improve our lives. So I don't think it's a one-- it's not a cookie-cutter answer on how to solve the hunger crisis, especially in our area. It's loaded.
For somebody, it may mean getting a job. For another person, it may mean getting them proper medical. It's just so different.
CATHY WURZER: Here's a final question for you-- so you've got your main food bank hub that you're relying on. Would you get any help from the county?
ASHLEY HALL: Our county does help financially when we need it. What our county could do for us and the state could do for us specifically is help us with the transportation issue. If we could figure out how to move the people of Koochiching County around in an efficient way, I think that would help so many people across Koochiching County-- if we could find a bus system, something where people can move easier.
We have a phenomenal social services network up here, and we all constantly work together. But if people can't access us, it's almost like we're just beating our head against the wall. So I feel like, honestly, transportation is the missing link here for us specifically.
CATHY WURZER: Ashley, I wish you well. And I appreciate the conversation. If folks want information and want to help out, where do they call or who do they contact?
ASHLEY HALL: Absolutely. They can call me. My office number is 218-283-8020. They can find us on our website, fallshunger.org. We have a Facebook, we have an Instagram.
I try to be very accessible to people. And we want all the ideas anyone has. If they are listening to this and they're like, wait, have you tried this? Shoot me a message, send me a phone call, Facebook, whatever. We want all the help we can get and all the ideas that people have.
CATHY WURZER: Ashley Hall, thank you so much for the conversation.
ASHLEY HALL: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: Ashley Hall is the Executive Director of Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls.
That's causing major demand at area food shelves. Ashley Hall is the Executive Director of the Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls. She's here to share what's happening in her area. Ashley, welcome to Minnesota Now.
ASHLEY HALL: Thank you so much.
CATHY WURZER: Tell us a little bit about Falls Hunger Coalition. Who do you serve?
ASHLEY HALL: Yeah, we serve a very large county-- Koochiching County up in northern Minnesota. So while our name, most people think it's just International Falls, it's not. We serve the entire county. It's a very rural county.
Most people up here do not have adequate access to a grocery store or to food, period. In fact, the USDA says that almost 20% of the people in Koochiching County are more than 10 miles away from a grocery store, which we to be probably more than that.
CATHY WURZER: Wow-- so a long way to go to get food.
ASHLEY HALL: Yes.
CATHY WURZER: I hear you've seen a big spike in demand since February. Tell us about that.
ASHLEY HALL: Yeah. We've seen a huge spike. It kind of started around the holidays, which is pretty typical. But in February, our numbers really began to jump. We started seeing record numbers across all of our food shelves. We have food shelves across the county, so not just in International Falls, and all the numbers really started to rise. Our food distribution numbers started to rise. And it's been really eye-opening who's walking in our doors and using our services.
CATHY WURZER: Who are these people? And what do you think is causing the demand?
ASHLEY HALL: A lot of the people, we're seeing a lot of senior citizens come in. They are having medical bills, which we know is a huge issue as well, aside from food. We're seeing a lot of families come in-- people that you probably wouldn't expect. We always say to people volunteering with us and to our staff, we're never here to judge anybody.
So somebody might drive up in a Benz and need our services, and we have no idea what's going on with them. Like I said, it could be a health issue. It could be they're taking in other family members who are going through hard times. So it's really eye-opening, really concerning, really I don't even know the words to use right now about who's coming in here.
CATHY WURZER: Do you think that the increase is being caused by the economy? What's going on, do you think?
ASHLEY HALL: I do. And our food bank is Second Harvest North Central in Grand Rapids, and we are in close contact with them. And we've discussed this a lot. And the economy absolutely has a lot to do with it.
As we all know, food is expensive. Up here, it's even more expensive because we only have our big grocery stores. We have two of them, but they're owned by one company. Gas is expensive, our utilities are expensive.
So as things go up, most people aren't getting paid more money. They're still living on the same budget. So it's hard.
CATHY WURZER: How are you responding to the need?
ASHLEY HALL: So Falls Hunger and, like I mentioned, Second Harvest, saw this coming in COVID, that this might happen-- this influx and this need for our services. So we started back at the end of 2020 adding locations around our county. So we have food shelves or food pantries, whichever you refer them to, in every one of our schools, including our community college.
And we've expanded our food distributions to three locations throughout our county. And then even recently last month, we opened up a new full food shelf on the outside of our county in Indus.
CATHY WURZER: Are you having any trouble keeping your food shelves stocked?
ASHLEY HALL: We are not. Second Harvest, I keep bringing them up because that's where we get 80% to 85% of our food from, they are doing a tremendous job keeping the food coming through the food bank, which, in turn, comes directly to us twice a month. So the food looks a little different.
We talk a lot about TFAP-- that's the emergency food assistance program, which is the food coming through from the government. And that food is steady. It's obviously not as much as it was during COVID, because there was a lot more funding for food. But it's still coming, but it doesn't look exactly the same.
So during COVID, we saw a lot more meat, a lot more canned goods, maybe even fresh produce coming through. Now, we're starting to see some different things-- we're seeing some snack foods, not quite as much meat, not quite as much produce. It's still coming, and we're still getting it. But it looks a little different.
And we personally are having to get creative on how we source our food. We do get food. We purchase food from our local grocery stores. We try to get local farmers and gardeners to donate. But we're having to purchase a little bit more because we know that everybody doesn't eat the same.
We are all so different. We all have different medical needs, different cultural needs. And so for us, it's really important that we're providing the food that people need for their diets and wants. And so that may mean purchasing food from a store, whereas before maybe we could get it from our food bank, or maybe it was donated from a big corporation.
CATHY WURZER: You're, as you say, in the midst of a really large spread out county, Koochiching. And I'm sure you're probably classified as a food desert, aren't you?
ASHLEY HALL: Absolutely. It means a little bit something different depending on where you are. But to us, food desert-- we use the word over and over again because we want people to really understand what's happening up here. People might have the money to go purchase food, but they might not have the means to get there.
And that's what being a food desert really is all about is people can't access the food. So if you do have the money to purchase it, you might not have the vehicle to get there, or maybe you can't drive your vehicle to get there, or it might be in January in the middle of 40-below temperatures and it's difficult for you to get there.
So all of those are a factor. We don't have a major transportation system up here. We do have one bus, and it literally just runs in the International Falls city limits. So there's not transportation for people to get around and access food or other services up here.
CATHY WURZER: So what are you doing to brace for, say, a potential recession?
ASHLEY HALL: We are doing everything we can in our power. And I know that sounds really cliche, but we had, for example, in our International Falls location, which we refer to as our hub location-- that's where our offices are, our biggest food shelf-- we did have a room in the middle of it that was where we did intake-- where we sat down with people and we tried to offer other services, figure out how we can help them get on their feet more.
And recently, I think back in April, we made the decision that we can't do that anymore because we have to use that for storage. So now that room is all we have pallets on the floor, we have shelves. And we're just storing the food in there because we're moving so much food every single day and every single week that we had to have that extra storage room.
So we are in the process of trying to find a larger location. We all know that takes manpower. It takes money. It's going to take a lot to do that. But we are in the process of just constantly trying to figure out how we can store more food and how we can access more food.
And like you said, because we are in a food desert, how are we going to get that food to people? So do we try to purchase another vehicle, or a bus, or a van, or something to try to get the food out besides our food distributions and our food shelves.
CATHY WURZER: So I'm kind of curious here, Ashley-- what's the permanent solution to the problem?
ASHLEY HALL: Oh my gosh, if I knew that answer.
CATHY WURZER: Right.
ASHLEY HALL: We talk a lot about that here. And just like we're all so different in what we eat, we're also different in what's going to help us get to the next step in our life which will improve our lives. So I don't think it's a one-- it's not a cookie-cutter answer on how to solve the hunger crisis, especially in our area. It's loaded.
For somebody, it may mean getting a job. For another person, it may mean getting them proper medical. It's just so different.
CATHY WURZER: Here's a final question for you-- so you've got your main food bank hub that you're relying on. Would you get any help from the county?
ASHLEY HALL: Our county does help financially when we need it. What our county could do for us and the state could do for us specifically is help us with the transportation issue. If we could figure out how to move the people of Koochiching County around in an efficient way, I think that would help so many people across Koochiching County-- if we could find a bus system, something where people can move easier.
We have a phenomenal social services network up here, and we all constantly work together. But if people can't access us, it's almost like we're just beating our head against the wall. So I feel like, honestly, transportation is the missing link here for us specifically.
CATHY WURZER: Ashley, I wish you well. And I appreciate the conversation. If folks want information and want to help out, where do they call or who do they contact?
ASHLEY HALL: Absolutely. They can call me. My office number is 218-283-8020. They can find us on our website, fallshunger.org. We have a Facebook, we have an Instagram.
I try to be very accessible to people. And we want all the ideas anyone has. If they are listening to this and they're like, wait, have you tried this? Shoot me a message, send me a phone call, Facebook, whatever. We want all the help we can get and all the ideas that people have.
CATHY WURZER: Ashley Hall, thank you so much for the conversation.
ASHLEY HALL: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: Ashley Hall is the Executive Director of Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls.
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