Local meals available as food insecurity rises

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - As SNAP benefits expire for November and questions loom about the security of those benefits, many in the community are looking for other options for meals.

One of those options is at Centenary United Methodist Church in Mankato.

They’ve made free community breakfasts six days a week for more than a decade.

Organizers of the “Holy Grounds” effort said that they’ve seen demand nearly double in just the past month, and that they see people from all kinds of backgrounds and economic levels.

They said it’s just as much a community gathering space as it is a food security space.

“Some of our guests are here primarily for the meal and some of our guests are here for more of the community but most of our guests are here for both. So it’s important that this be a warm hospitable place,” said Amy Jo Bur, the church’s lead pastor.

Just up the hill is Christ the King Church, which has a variety of meal programs.

A team of volunteers serve meals at Connections Shelter in Mankato, and another serve dollar lunches to local college students at Crossroads Campus Ministry at MSU Mankato.

And still there are free dinners each Wednesday at the church itself put on by the congregation.

Leaders at the church said that meals are a primary way to support their community, especially during a time of increased food insecurity.

“Core to our faith is service to our neighbor, and so one of the easiest ways we can show up for our neighbor is in feeding them,” said Christ the King’s senior pastor Melanie Wallschlaeger. “We have fellowship around the table and we also feel it’s important to serve our neighbor through food.”

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