What percentage of Minnesota Somali immigrants receive SNAP or food assistance in 2024?
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Executive summary
Available reporting does not provide a single authoritative percentage for how many Minnesota residents of Somali descent received SNAP or other food assistance in 2024; fact-checkers and news organizations say they could not find a clear figure [1]. Minnesota had more than 450,000 SNAP participants in fiscal 2024 — but sources do not break out what share were Somali [2]. Multiple articles note high poverty rates among Somali Minnesotans and extensive participation in means‑tested programs historically, yet none of the provided sources give a direct Somali‑specific SNAP percentage for 2024 [3] [4] [1].
1. No single, cited percentage exists in current reporting
Major outlets and a prominent fact‑checking piece report an inability to locate a reliable percentage of Somalis on welfare or SNAP in Minnesota in 2024; FactCheck.org explicitly says it “was not able to find information showing the percentage of Somali residents in Minnesota… who benefit from social programs” and challenges a claim that “like 88%” of Somalis receive welfare [1]. That lack of an authoritative number is the central constraint for answering your question directly.
2. Statewide SNAP totals are known, but not the Somali share
Fiscal‑year reporting cited in news coverage and legislative materials puts Minnesota SNAP participation at “more than 450,000 Minnesotans” in FY2024, with program costs above $850 million — a clear statewide datum but not a community breakdown [2]. Because the state data cited by critics and lawmakers are aggregated, they cannot be used alone to infer what percentage of Somali Minnesotans received benefits [2].
3. Context: Somali poverty and program use are repeatedly documented, but vary by source
Research and policy pieces say Somali Minnesotans experience substantially higher poverty than native Minnesotans — for example, one analysis cited a Somali adult poverty rate of 37.5% versus 6.9% for adult natives — which would reasonably correlate with higher rates of means‑tested benefit use [3]. Other organizations and the Minnesota Department of Human Services emphasize refugee and resettlement eligibility for cash and food supports, underscoring that newly arrived and refugee populations are often eligible for programs like SNAP [5] [6]. None of those documents, however, translate poverty rates into an explicit SNAP participation percentage for 2024 [3] [5] [6].
4. Political claims and allegations have outpaced available data
High‑profile political statements — including a reported claim by a national political figure that “88%” of Somalis receive welfare — have been directly questioned by fact‑checkers because sources do not support such a precise figure [1]. Reporting on criminal fraud schemes tied to some actors in the Somali community has further politicized the topic; coverage documents large fraud prosecutions and state audits but does not establish overall program participation rates among all Somali Minnesotans [7] [8] [9].
5. Why a reliable Somali‑specific SNAP rate is hard to produce from public sources
Public SNAP enrollment datasets typically report demographics at coarse levels (state, county) and may not reliably identify ethnicity or ancestry such as “Somali.” FactCheck.org and others note the absence of publicly available, defensible cross‑tabs that would tie SNAP receipt to Somali ancestry for 2024; thus researchers and reporters have not produced a consensus percentage [1]. Minnesota’s refugee and resettlement program pages describe who may be eligible for food or cash assistance but do not publish a Somali‑specific SNAP uptake metric [5] [10].
6. Competing narratives and what each side leans on
Advocates and community organizations highlight high poverty, language access, culturally specific food supports (e.g., Somali‑language services, halal food shelves) and pathways from refugee reception into benefit programs; these sources argue for contextualizing assistance as part of resettlement and need [11] [5]. Critics and some commentators emphasize large fraud cases and political fallout, citing audit figures and prosecutions to question program integrity; these accounts rely on documented fraud sums and legal action but do not change the absence of a population‑level SNAP percentage for Somalis [8] [9] [2].
7. Bottom line and recommended next steps for a precise answer
Available sources do not state a precise percentage of Minnesota Somali immigrants receiving SNAP or food assistance in 2024 [1]. To get a defensible figure, a researcher would need access to administrative SNAP enrollment data linked to race/ethnicity or ancestry — data that is not present in the cited reporting — or a rigorous survey cross‑tabulated by Somali ancestry and program receipt [1] [2]. If you want, I can draft the specific data request language or identify which Minnesota agencies or researchers to contact (state DHS, county human services, academic demographers) based on the gaps shown in these sources [2] [5].