North Dakota
Food insecurity increasing in North Dakota
JAMESTOWN — Food insecurity is increasing in North Dakota, according to Ethan Liu, a research specialist at the Sheila and Robert Chailey Institute for Global Innovation & Growth at North Dakota State University.
Liu’s data indicates the overall food insecurity rate in North Dakota has risen from 4.8% in 2020 to 8.5% in 2022, the most recent year statistics are available.
“If the family feels they have problems affording food, they have food insecurity,” he said. “The large cities have more resources than the rural areas.”
Liu said food insecurity is less in North Dakota than nationally. The national average for families with food insecurity is 13.1%.
“Almost all (North Dakota) counties have a food insecurity rate of less than 20%,” he said, “but we can do better.”
According to Liu’s report, food insecurity by county in North Dakota ranged from a low of 5.8% in Renville County to a high of 21.4% in Sioux County. Stutsman County had a food insecurity rate of 10.8% and is one of six counties in North Dakota with a food insecurity rate above 10%. Other counties in North Dakota with a food insecurity level greater than 10% are Sioux, Rollette, Ramsey, Benson and Eddy counties.
A new committee is in the process of organizing to address Jamestown and Stutsman County hunger issues, according to Olivia Schloegel, a concerned citizen who’s participated in formal meetings to discuss food access, opportunities and barriers.
“It is still in the organizing steps,” she said. “Trying to decide who should be and involved and what the organization should look like.”
Schloegel said she hoped the group would address the short-term goal of connecting people to food resources and the long-term goal of increasing poverty in the region.
Families with children often have the greatest needs, especially during the summer months when school lunch programs are not available, Liu said.
Families with children often have the greatest needs especially during the summer months when school lunch programs are not available, Liu said.
Nikki Meza, food pantry coordinator for Community Action Region IV in Jamestown, said the needs are growing.
“This year’s numbers are up,” she said. “…if prices were to go down, it helps.”
In the month of November, Community Action Region IV supported 197 families in the Jamestown area. That is at the top end of the average of 150 to 200 families it has provided food to each month this year.
Meza said the food comes from several sources, including grocery retailers in Jamestown that donate food that is nearing its expiration date or is being discontinued. Other sources include individual donations, including organizational or company food drives, which are often held during the holiday season, along with some items from the Great Plains Food Bank.
“At this point, we are meeting everyone’s needs in the community,” Meza said. “It helps out families meet their needs. They can use that money for other needs like boots or winter coats.”
Food distribution has also increased through the Salvation Army in Jamestown, according to Dan Furry, divisional public relations and communications director for the Salvation Army Northern Division.
Grocery orders have increased 37.4% for the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter in 2023, he said. A grocery order fulfilled by the Salvation Army would typically supply food necessary for 25 to 30 adult meals.
The Salvation Army is aiding 99 households and 228 individuals in the Jamestown area, an 11% increase from last year, Furry said.
Meza said the best items to donate are pasta, rice and canned soup.
“Those things can go a long way in feeding a family,” she said.
Other items include pet foods, household items and personal care items.
“Simple things that help out families are the best,” Meza said.
Liu said another way to combat food insecurity in North Dakota would be increased funding for Great Plains Food Bank.
Great Plains Food Bank operates from offices in Bismarck and Fargo but partners with local agencies including Community Action, Progress Community Center and the Salvation Army in Jamestown.
“A solution would be more resources for Great Plains Food Pantry,” Liu said. “If they had $47 million it could eliminate food insecurity in North Dakota.”
Liu said the current budget for Great Plains Food Pantry is $18.7 million and is just meeting the most immediate needs of the public.
Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court
North Dakota
Kaitlyn Grace Lucier, Fargo, Chapter 7
Samuel Todd Hicks, formerly known as Thomas Samuel Hicks, Fargo, Chapter 7
Teresa and Dominik Renwick, Fargo, Chapter 13
Susan Renee Fuller, formerly known as Susan R. Schaffer, doing business as Susie’s Sparkling Cleaning Service, Fargo, Chapter 7
Shannon Lynn Taylor, Fargo, Chapter 7
Jesse Patrick and Jaime Elizabeth Brown, Williston, Chapter 7
Kerri Lee Weishaar, Minot, Chapter 7
Terry Marie Moritz, Valley City, Chapter 7
Joshua Allen Sewill, Hatton, Chapter 7
Bryan Eugene Flecker, Minot, Chapter 7
Anna Marie Rahm, formerly known as Anna Marie Tanner, and Joshua Edward Rahm, Bismarck, Chapter 13
Sherri Rae Fisher, Baldwin, Chapter 13
Heather Lynn McElroy, formerly known as Heather Anderson, Grand Forks, Chapter 7
Kaitlyn Autrey, Grand Forks, Chapter 7
Michelle Lynn Miller, Fargo, Chapter 13
Kimberly Georgeann Callahan, Fargo, Chapter 13
Erin Elaine and Jose Luiz Murphy, Bismarck, Chapter 7
Shelly and Kieth Quimby, St. Thomas, Chapter 7
Minnesota
Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.
David Howard Gilpin, Osakis, Chapter 7
Timothy Virgil Hoag, Moorhead, Chapter 7
Jason Darryl Dykhoff, Ottertail, Chapter 7
Zachary Nicholas Hodgson and Jolynn Beth Warnes, formerly known as Jolynn Beth Hodgson, Kensington, Chapter 7
Riley Matthew Hinman, Alexandria, Chapter 7
Layne Christopher Condiff, Park Rapids, Chapter 13
Thomas Beecher Hoyer, Menahga, Chapter 13
Christine Karen Jakubek, also known as Cristine Anderson, Chapter 7
Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.
Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.
Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.
Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
North Dakota
Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Friday, North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Governor Kelly Armstrong and Health and Human Services Commissioner Pat Traynor explained how the state plans to use millions of dollars from the Big Beautiful Bill’s Rural Health Transformation Fund to transform healthcare across the state.
They spoke extensively about the special session to allocate the funds, and confirmed that it is still tentatively set for Jan. 21.
The Big Beautiful Bill allocated $25 billion for rural healthcare nationwide. North Dakota received $500 million for five years and $200 million for the first year. There is still another $25 billion left to be spent, and North Dakota is hoping to receive an extra $500 million.
“I truly believe that with the plan we’re putting in place and the things we built that line up with that, we’ll get a billion dollars over five years,” said Hoeven.
Federal rules require the state to lock in contracts for the money by October first— a deadline officials say is driving the need for a special session.
In the first year, North Dakota will focus on retention grants to keep existing staff, technical assistance and consultants for rural hospitals, as well as telehealth equipment and home patient monitoring.
Governor Armstrong says the special session will include policy bills tied to how much federal rural health funding the state can earn.
“We’re going to have a physical fitness test for physical education courses, nutrition education, continuing education requirement for physicians, physician assistant licensure compact—which North Dakota has been doing, dealing with that since the heart of the oil boom and moving forward—and then an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists,” said Armstrong.
Hundreds of millions of dollars could reshape healthcare in rural North Dakota, and state leaders say the next few weeks are key to receiving and spending that money wisely.
The governor says he only wants to focus on bills related to the Rural Health Transformation Program during the special session and doesn’t intend to deal with other state issues during that time.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
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