Louise Robinson, a board member at Minnehaha Food Shelf in Minneapolis, packed a variety of fresh and nonperishable food into a small wooden cart Tuesday before loading it into her car.
Robinson made sure to get potatoes, a staple for making Ecuadorian tortillas. She will leave these bags of food at the doorstep of a family of six, who, out of fear of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have not left their home since mid-December.
Sharon Abel, executive director of Groveland Emergency Food Shelf in Minneapolis, now has a similar routine. She drops off food weekly to a network of organizations and schools that support around 1,200 families sheltering at home.
Food deliveries prompted by ICE activity are new, but the growing need for food assistance is not. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, food shelf visits have climbed by millions, reaching a record of nearly 9 million visits in 2024.
The influx in visits comes as the federal government rolls back welfare services like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“The collateral damage is regular folks who are just trying to survive,” Abel said. “We see these folks every single day. We see them getting skinnier, we see them getting sicker as resources are no longer available to them.”
SNAP benefits were cut in September 2025 after Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will continue imposing restrictions and cuts over the next decade. Abel saw some people’s benefits drop by more than half.
Over the past year, Abel said she has welcomed many first-time users of the Groveland food shelf.
Around 5,000 people visited the shelf each month last year until Operation Metro Surge, when visits dropped by half. Though in-person visits have declined, Abel said she has tripled the amount of food she buys each month to help feed those sheltering at home.
“We are at our capacity of who we can help and how we can support people,” Abel said.
Robinson said she saw a similar spike at Minnehaha Food Shelf during SNAP cuts, then a subsequent decline of more than half of in-person visits during Operation Metro Surge. A few families have returned, but not nearly as many as she hoped, she added.
Robinson said hundreds remain sheltering at home and relying on the shelf’s delivery system, with over half of the families they serve still not able to come in person.
The University of Minnesota’s food shelf, Nutritious U Food Pantry, has expanded locations and services to meet growing needs on campus, said Michelle Trumpy, senior director of public health at Boynton Health.
After extending hours during the fall 2025 semester, more than 10,000 people visited the pantry, a 60% increase compared with last fall, Trumpy said. She said Boynton Health survey data found one in four students has run out of food or worries they will.
“There’s a lot of factors impacting students right now,” Trumpy said. “Sometimes things pile up on each other. You have a car payment, an unexpected medical expense, your work hours are cut. And now you really need more help.”
During Operation Metro Surge, Nutritious U instituted a temporary program to provide about 200 students with food and essential items while they sheltered at home.
Many food shelves do not have the option to keep expanding, even as demand grows, and are at their limit.
Abel said she does not know what lies ahead, but she remains committed to serving those who rely on the Groveland food shelf.
“Despite all of the terror, we still have to find moments to celebrate each other and celebrate our community,” Abel said.
