The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the new federal name for the nation’s Food Stamp Program (and known in Minnesota as the Food Support Program), is the first line of defense against hunger in the U.S. and a critically important—yet underused—source of meals for families, children and seniors across the nation.

As we learned from our Missing Meals study released in March of 2009, public sources of meals—such as SNAP—account for 22% of all meals consumed by hungry Minnesotans. With 125 million meals missing in Minnesota alone, we are committed to doing everything possible to ensure more individuals have access to more food. That’s why Second Harvest Heartland partnered with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG): to better understand the 125 million meal gap, and realize the full potential of SNAP in Minnesota.

Currently, a bill is moving through the Minnesota legislature that will eliminate any asset test during the SNAP enrollment process, and will increase eligibility based on Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). House File 453 and its Senate companion will increase SNAP participation in Minnesota by 75,000-87,000 people. If passed.

It’s the first step toward providing millions of missing meals in Minnesota: a significant victory over the nutrition gap that mars our neighbors’ lives today, and limits our healthy and productive futures, collectively.