Food shelf visits surge across Minnesota as inflation pressures students and workers

When Marlene Espinoza first decided to use the food pantry at Minneapolis College, she said she felt a little embarrassed about using the free resource, but when she showed up, she realized plenty of other students were in the same boat. "I was actually surprised. I was like, 'Wow, there's a lot of people here,'" Espinoza said. According to the community college, located just off Loring Park in downtown Minneapolis, more and more students are finding themselves needing to come to the food pantry thanks to unpredictable food prices. Minneapolis College recorded 1,566 visits over the last three months, with 54,043 pounds of food distributed. Heidi Goettl, the director of the college's Student Resource Center, said that the numbers have essentially doubled since this time last year; she said donations and local government grants keep them open and able to handle the influx. "Right now we're OK, but that is something that we always worry about and what can we continue to offer?" Goettle sa