Minnesota's Feeding Our Future Fraud Exploited Federal CACFP Funds During COVID-19 Pandemic
Feeding Our Future exploited Minnesota's federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) during the COVID-19 pandemic to siphon off funds intended for low-income children. The scheme has been described as the nation's largest COVID-19 fraud case.
According to payment data, CACFP funds sent to Minnesota nonprofit meal sponsors grew from $1.4 million in 2019 to $4.8 million in 2020, then surged to $140.3 million in 2021, an increase of 2,818%. By the end of 2019, Feeding Our Future sponsored more CACFP sites than its peers—over six times as many—and this gap widened significantly during the pandemic. In 2021, nearly 40% of CACFP funds sent to Minnesota nonprofit meal sponsors were directed to Feeding Our Future.
The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor found that oversight by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) was inadequate. Failures included accepting flawed applications, a lack of investigation into complaints, and allowing continued expansion despite numerous red flags, all of which created opportunities for fraud.
In 2022, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced charges against 47 individuals involved in a $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Governor Tim Walz acknowledged his ultimate accountability for the fraud that occurred under his administration. He also noted that taxpayers will bear the cost of a state-level cleanup, effectively paying twice for the oversight failures.
