Nearly half the people who used Minnesota's food shelves last year work for a living. Because of this, Minnesota FoodShare is highlighting the needs of the working poor in its March education and food drive campaign, titled 'Working and Still Hungry.'

'Working doesn't guarantee anything anymore,' said Sue Kainz, coordinator of the March Campaign.

Working families are now the fastest-growing population of food-shelf users, she said. 'Wages have not kept up with the cost of housing, health care, child care and utilities. Rising rents, especially, have left families scrambling to find ways to afford groceries.'

Kainz and others say that because the government's established poverty line no longer accurately reflects the true cost of living, working families with barely enough to live on can't qualify for food stamps or housing and child-care subsidies. This, coupled with low-wages and little or no health benefits at work, makes food shelves the only option for many working people, she said.

Minnesota FoodShare, a program of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, works with 700 congregations and community organizations to raise money and food for more than 250 food shelves in Minnesota. The program is run primarily through volunteer help.

The March Campaign is FoodShare's largest undertaking and most successful campaign -making it the largest food drive in the state.

The program seeks help from businesses, congregations, schools and community organizations. These groups run local cash and food drives, and educate their members about realities facing working families and individuals.

Erin Geary is an intern for www.workdayminnesota.org and The Union Advocate newspaper.