Minnesota Government Shutdown 2011: Food Shelves Send Plea, Funding Quickly Restored

As negotiations continue on a bill that would end the government shutdown in Minnesota, the state's hungry got some encouraging news.

The Star Tribune reports that food shelves will receive their federal food supply, after initially being deemed "non-critical" and temporarily halted during the shutdown. Advocates told St. Louis Park Patch that continuing to stock shelves was crucial during the shutdown.

"There was literally one million pounds of food that wouldn't have been distributed," Joan Wadkins, a spokeswoman for the food shelf Second Harvest Heartland said.

Colleen Moriarty, executive director of Hunger Solutions Minnesota sent an appeal to the state to keep funding her program. She received word over the weekend that Minnesota would continue to dole out food while budget negotiations continue.

The shutdown began last Friday after Gov. Mark Dayton (D) and state lawmakers failed to reach an agreement in negotiations to close the state's $5 billion budget gap.

Flickr photo by ccstbp