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A line wrapped around the building Monday afternoon at 

Keystone is one of the Minnesota food shelves seeing increased demand due to the federal government’s pause in federal food benefits, or SNAP. Inside the food shelf’s busy warehouse, volunteers sorted through food donations.

The community has stepped up, says Keystone’s director of basic needs, Georgi Nguyen.

“We’ve just seen an outpouring of support from our community. The bell has been ringing nonstop for our donations here,” Nguyen said.

But the increased support is still not enough to fill the cavern left without federal food benefits.

Last week, Keystone’s food shelf reached peak capacity several days in a row and had to turn away additional visitors. 

On Monday, President Donald Trump’s administration 

said it will restore food benefits, but only at half of the previous level

 — and after what could be significant delays. 

Nguyen said Keystone is trying to figure out how to serve more people.

More than 400,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP benefits, including nearly 90,000 people in Ramsey County alone.

"We’ve been focused on seeing if we can increase the number of services we have available. That includes expanding hours,” she said. “Just, how can we create more opportunities for individuals to come get groceries here at our food center and out at our mobile sites?”

Nguyen said visitors to the food shelf have been anxious about the future. Visitors there utilize services just three times a year on average, usually as a supplement to other benefits.

As SNAP delays continue, the frequency of those visits could increase. 

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The community has stepped up, but it can’t fill the cavern left from lapsed SNAP benefits.

Without SNAP, Twin Cities food shelves struggle to fill the gap

Without SNAP, Twin Cities food shelves struggle to fill the gap

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