Solutions Blog

2022 Food Shelf visits hit record high – up almost 2 million visits over previous year

Minnesotans made 5,505,100 visits to food shelves in 2022, a record high. This is nearly 2 million more visits than in 2021 and 1.7 million more than the previous record set in 2020.

If Minnesota food shelves were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, more thanĀ ten people would visit a food shelf every minute.

In 2022, Minnesota seniors made 707,012 visits to food shelves, up 39.8% from 2021. Adult visits increased by 56.0% from 2021 to 1,028,548 visits. Child food shelf visits totaled 1,934,205 visits, up 55.3% from 2021.

Line chart showing increase in monthly Minnesota food shelf visits through 2022

The rise in food shelf visits in 2022 was largely due to the rise in food prices. The 12-month change in the price of food at home peaked at 13.5% in August 2022 and remains near record highs.

Communities just east and north of the Twin Cities (Washington, Anoka, Sherburne Counties), and in north central Minnesota (Itasca and Beltrami Counties). saw the greatest increase in food shelf visits from the previous year. Interactive map

Map of percent change in the total number of Minnesota food shelf visit from 2021 to 2022

For more information on Minnesota’s 2022 Food Shelf visits:

Download the 2022 Food Shelf Statistics Report (PDF)

Download the 2022 Food Shelf Visit Fact Sheet (PDF)

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