ROCHESTER – Channel One Regional Food Bank is ending its partnerships with 11 food distribution and backpack programs as the organization seeks to meet the growing need for food in southern Minnesota.

According to food bank representatives, visits to Channel One-affiliated food shelves and pantries increased 37% in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023.

To meet this growing need, Channel One looked for ways to streamline food distribution in the 14 southern Minnesota counties it serves.

“We’re trying to spend less money transporting food locally and more money purchasing food,” says Virginia Witherspoon, executive director of Channel One.

Backpack programs that help distribute non-perishable food to school-age children do not necessarily require the support of a food bank that emphasizes the distribution of fresh food and produce.

“That’s not to say backpack programs don’t serve a community need,” Witherspoon said. “But just because an organization distributes food doesn’t mean the food bank is the best source for that food.”

For All Seasons Community Services in Kenyon, Minnesota, Channel One was a key source of fresh food such as milk and eggs. All Seasons was one of 11 partners with which Channel One cut ties in July.

All Seasons CEO Mary Frutiger said the July 9 letter informing her of the end of the partnership came as a surprise. The end came on Aug. 16. But that won’t end All Seasons’ efforts to provide food to those in need in and around Kenyon, Frutiger said. Churches, businesses and farmers have helped provide fresh food.

“I’ve spent the last seven days reaching out and the response has been great,” she said.

Witherspoon said Channel One officials looked at truck drivers’ routes, the presence of other grocery shelves nearby and accessibility to decide which partnerships with organizations to limit.

In total, Witherspoon said, the 11 agencies that Channel One has removed from its roster serve about 300 households and 225 students per month. That’s part of the roughly 30,000 households per month that Channel One and its partner organizations currently serve, she added.

“Every person experiencing food insecurity is important, but (this change) affects less than 1% of the people we serve,” she said. All Seasons reported serving about 26 families per month for the past four years, she added.

Backpack programs often find retail partners, Witherspoon said, adding she was glad to hear All Seasons is also turning to a new source of fresh food.

“You don’t have to be a Channel One partner to serve your community,” Witherspoon said.

Some of the food shelves that Channel One has ended its partnerships with were previously offered grant opportunities to increase selection and access at their facilities. Some shelves offer prepackaged foods. But food waste is reduced when people are given choices, Witherspoon said. People who need food also lose their reluctance to visit a food shelf when there are more choices, she said.

Lack of choice and limited broadcast times (no evenings) were factors in Channel One’s decision to end its partnership with All Seasons, Channel One officials said. They also pointed out that people in Kenyon have other options: They could visit Channel One’s affiliates in Faribault, which is less than 20 miles away, or in Kasson, which is about 24 miles away.

Frutiger noted that some of All Seasons’ users come from neighboring communities, including Nerstrand and Wanamingo.

“There are no food banks in these small towns,” she said, adding that she was concerned that Channel One was leaving people in rural areas with fewer options and fewer services.

Witherspoon said Channel One’s broadcast area is largely rural.

“We will not reduce our services in rural areas,” she said.

Other organizations have accepted grants to help expand access and give people using grocery shelves choices in their food selections, Witherspoon said.

Erin Haag is executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County, which operates the Welcome Pantry in Albert Lea. The pantry was founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and evolved from a scheduled pickup of food packages.

“Back then, there was either a limited selection or a box of groceries,” Haag said.

Thanks to grants from Channel One, the Dale Larson Foundation, ConAgra and Feeding America, the Welcome Pantry was able to move into new space where pantry users can select their own food. People sign up for 15-minute time slots during pantry hours.

“We market it as a designated shopping time,” said Haag.

Refrigerators with glass doors, a fruit and vegetable table and shelves would have made the experience even more inviting, Haag said.

“We like to offer choices,” she said. “Maybe someone doesn’t eat pork, but they have the option to eat fish.”

Dietary restrictions are also not a problem with this format, Haag added. The pantry serves about 500 households per month, she said.

Haag said the format helps people feel less uncertain about food availability when using the pantry, which has also led to a reduction in food waste.

“If people know they can always find something to eat, they end up taking less with them,” she says.

This is a big change from people lining up in cars at 4 a.m. in 2020 to hand out groceries at 11 a.m., she said.

Haag said Channel One helped her and the pantry’s staff and volunteers learn best practices for serving food-insecure people in a short period of time.

“We wanted to build a relationship of trust with the buyers,” she said.

At All Seasons, Frutiger said they are just beginning to figure out how to continue to meet the needs of the community that continues to buy food there, but she is confident that volunteers and community members will step up.

“There is always a solution because good people figure it out,” she said.