South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota celebrating 50 year while focusing on next 50

Published

8 months ago

July 11, 2025

Feeding South Dakota celebrating 50 year while focusing on next 50

This year marks 50 years of Feeding South Dakota and the organization’s work in the state.

While the organization is celebrating the past, leaders say they’re focusing on helping South Dakota in the present and future.

After half-a-century, CEO Lori Dykstra said Feeding South Dakota’s goal remains the same: fight hunger every day.

“We can’t only just continue to feed the line; we need to get people out of that food line. And so, what does that look like?” Dykstra asked. “That means educating people, advocating for the people who can’t advocate for themselves and really making sure that we’re creating programs that are that hand up, that step out of poverty to hopefully to shorten the [food] line.”

She said though they can’t control every variable that puts people in food lines, they can do everything in their power to help.

Dykstra said, more importantly, the goal isn’t to be complacent at 50 years running. The goal is to continue to achieve more over the next 50.

Feeding South Dakota Board Chair Kim Tyler agreed. She said there’s a blueprint on how to do just that: working with the 250 partner agencies to improve rural outreach.

“I think in the next five years we want to make them more effective. Because we cannot just do it in Sioux Falls, and Rapid [City] and maybe Pierre or Aberdeen. We need every county to have folks that are helping their neighbors,” Tyler said. “And so I think we really have a lot of optimism about the partnerships that we have both from, frankly, the people who support us: donors and people who are very altruistic and want to help our cause, and then we have tremendous agencies that work with us to provide solutions in those rural areas, as well as our South Dakota cities.”

She said they aren’t acknowledging 50 years to pat themselves on the back, it’s to shed light on the food insecurity South Dakotans face every day.

“Not because we’re celebrating, Yeah, okay. We made it 50 years. It’s that we want to make sure folks know how much impact we make every month in our state. How many people we’re impacting and helping,” Tyler said. “It’s more that we’re trying to shout about the need and the really really important mission that we’re doing.”

Dykstra said it’s also an open invitation to everyone.

“We’re also hoping it invites people in to be a part of this mission, because we can’t do it without the volunteers who help us support it,” Dykstra said.

Volunteers like Whitney Heubrock and Rebecca Thompson. They are special education teachers with T-12 Thrive. They have brought students to volunteer at Feeding SD since 2017.

Heubrock said helping around the holidays especially resonates with students.

“The Thanksgiving box, or the project we do around Thanksgiving, is always fun because that always clicks with the students: that they’re helping a family have a good, big Thanksgiving meal,” Heubrock said.

Thompson said volunteering helps eliminate some of the stigma surrounding food insecurity.

“And I think being here and being physically present every week maybe takes away any shame or embarrassment if you ever do need the support,” Thompson said. “It’s like, ‘Yeah. It’s here. You know where it is. It’s not a bad thing. [Food insecurity] just happens.”

CEO Lori Dykstra said she’s seen firsthand how it can be hard to ask for help.

“It actually was in a farm community. And people roll down their window, we’re putting food in the back of the car,” Dykstra said. “And the gentleman immediately the first thing he says to me is, ‘You know, I don’t normally need the food line. I’m here because this happened with my job, and I’m switching jobs, and I’m in-between and as soon as I get my paycheck I won’t need to be here. I know this is bad, other people need this more than me.’ And I said, ‘No. We’re here for you.’”

She said they want to help people, no shame or judgement attached.

On the flip side, Dykstra said Feeding South Dakota also has plenty of happy stories to pass along. She told one of a single mother who brought her 4-year-old child.

“And she was asking her mom, ‘What are these? What are these?’ She had never seen them. And her mom was like, ‘I don’t know what they are either.’ And I said, ‘It’s a plum.’ And the woman running the pantry said, ‘Well you can try it.’ And so we washed it up and we gave it to her,” Dykstra said. “And the sheer joy on this little girl’s face. She had never tried it. And she was like, ‘That’s the best thing ever.’ And she just took a pile of them and put them in her bag. And she was so excited to try this fresh plum. Something the sheer joy that a plum can give to a 4-year-old, I mean, it was pretty amazing.”

Dykstra said in her time as CEO, she’s learned that people who aren’t food insecure may take things like a fresh plum for granted.

She added, while the organization is happy to celebrate 50 years, she hopes they can continue to fight food insecurity even further in the future.

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South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota

Published

4 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for Feb. 26, 2026

Published

16 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 26, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 26 drawing

03-14-22-50-57, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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South Dakota

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

State Sen. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank, speaks in the South Dakota Senate at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 10, 2026. Davis is sponsoring a bill that would ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda purchases. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

By: John Hult

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The question of whether South Dakota moves to ban the use of government food assistance for sugary drinks is in the hands of Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who has signaled his opposition to the bill all through the 2026 legislative session.

The state Senate voted 27-6 on Wednesday to endorse House Bill 1056, after the House passed it earlier 58-11. Assuming the same levels of support, both margins are wide enough to overcome a Rhoden veto, should he choose to issue one.

The bill directs the Department of Social Services to ask for a federal waiver to allow the state to bar the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of soft drinks.

SNAP is a federal program, managed by the state, through which people with low incomes get a monthly allowance for food through a debit-like card that can be used at most stores to buy nearly any consumable grocery item save alcohol and prepared foods.

Representatives from Rhoden’s office testified against the bill in House and Senate committees, arguing that the administrative costs would be too high. A fiscal note attached to the bill between its passage in the House and its appearance on the Senate’s Wednesday calendar estimated that implementation would cost $310,000 through the first two years. Those costs would come from hiring an extra employee and contracting for software to track sales, file reports and help retailers determine which drinks are banned.

Backers see long-term savings to the state, though. A high percentage of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded health insurance program open to disabled and income-eligible people.

On Wednesday, Burbank Republican Sen. Sydney Davis noted the connection between excess soda consumption and health problems like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Medicaid dental costs alone add up $51 million a year, she said.

Mitchell Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins, a retired dentist, told the body he once counted 32 cavities and seven abscesses in the mouths of 2-year-old twin boys who were covered by Medicaid.

He attributed the tooth decay to sugary beverages.

“I don’t know if that first visit was more traumatic on the boys or on my dental staff and myself,” said Miskimins.

Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, was the lone senator to speak in opposition on the Senate floor. She argued that some stores might stop accepting SNAP payments due to the administrative burden of sorting barred products from the rest of their inventories, and pointed out that the bill wouldn’t do a thing to prevent SNAP recipients from loading up on sugary foods like ice cream or snack cakes.

“It gives this look as if there’s going to be this big, huge change in the way that people buy products, but it’s really not going to be,” Grove said.

Some surrounding states, including Nebraska, have moved to ask for a waiver to ban soda sales through SNAP. Such waivers are now an option, as President Donald Trump’s administration is willing to consider granting them. Former President Joe Biden’s administration was not.

Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the South Dakota bill’s prime sponsor, got a letter last week from Trump administration officials expressing support for her proposal.

In response, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight that the governor “has always been supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again,” using a reference to the policy agenda branding used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have met directly with his Administration on this issue, and at no point has our opposition been directed at President Trump or his efforts to reform SNAP,” Harms said. “Our focus has always been on ensuring the implementation of SNAP reform works effectively for our state.”

Harms said Wednesday that Rhoden would answer questions about the bill at a Thursday press conference.

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