ABOVE: Second Harvest Heartland Rural Investment Manager Char Graff presents research done on the Fairmont area for their Make Hunger History plan at the Martin County Library in Fairmont on Monday.

FAIRMONT – Second Harvest Heartland Rural Investment Manager Char Graff discussed food insecurity in Fairmont and how the Make Hunger History plan is looking to address it at a library presentation on Monday.

The goal is to cut hunger in half for Minnesota by 2030. Graff said they have had researchers at and affiliated with Second Harvest Heartland working diligently to identify the worst pockets of hunger in their coverage zone.

“The highest amounts of people with the worst food insecurity,” Graff said. “Instead of just partnering with anyone that wanted to, we would target certain areas where we know there’s got to get more food into those areas.”

Along with Willmar and St. James, Fairmont is in the top three communities identified by Second Harvest Heartland as most food insecure. Graff said food insecurity occurs when a person is unable to afford food, must reduce meals due to hardship, or cannot regularly access food.

The metric used to determine food insecurity need is Meals per Insecure Person (MPIN). Currently, it is estimated there are 735 meals per person a year needed in Fairmont, and 830 food-insecure people. Graff said there are two metrics affecting this insecurity heavily.

“In Fairmont, almost a quarter of your population is disabled,” she said. “That’s a very high marker of high food insecurity. Almost 25 percent of your population is in poverty, and this MPIN is something that Feeding America looks at. They tell us how much more food we have to get into counties to feed everyone who needs it.”

In their Make Hunger History plan, Graff said they have worked with food banks that use Second Harvest Heartland to see how they can best maximize their outreach.

“For the most part, our food shelves are doing outstanding work,” she said.

In partnering with the food shelves, Second Harvest Heartland found Heaven’s Table and Salvation Army combined have 6,586 household visits in a year, covering 16,090 people. Combined, the two food shelves average 3,387 pounds per distribution event and 444,257 pounds yearly.

By conducting outreach at food shelves and community events in Fairmont, Graff said that 41 percent of the people asked don’t have transportation to attend distribution events. A portion of those asked did not know there were food programs in Fairmont.

There was good news. Most of those who were interviewed and had been to an area food shelf said they had had positive experiences.

After the outreach and brainstorming sessions, Second Harvest Heartland has come up with several strategies to fight food insecurity in Fairmont. Some of them seek to directly address the transportation problem identified in outreach.

“We talked about meeting people where they are so they don’t have to get to the food shelf,” Graff said. “Go into low-income apartments and other low-income areas of town. Another thing right now, they’re only getting twice a month deliveries from us. So they get a delivery truck only twice a month. We were saying that it would be nice if they could get it once a week.”

To implement ideas like these, Graff said additional volunteers are the main thing they need.

Other strategies include finding ways to optimize and expand fridge, freezer and counter space for more food and collaborating with public transit for awareness and transport purposes.

As for what anyone can do, Graff said the three main ways are to advocate for legislation and policy that fights hunger, provide financial support for food banks, food shelves, and neighbors in need and volunteer whenever you can.

Heaven’s Table has regular distribution at 909 Winnebago Ave., from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays. They also do delivery and pickup orders through the phone at (507) 238-5424 from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Wednesdays. Salvation Army does distribution at 303 Downtown Plaza from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.

In addition, St. John Vianney has its Hope Shop at 901 S. Prairie Ave from 4 to 6 p.m. on Mondays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays.