UpdatedTue, Feb 9, 2021 at 10:33 am CT Reply February 8, 2021 MONTEVIDEO, Minn. -- Food shelves across Minnesota are seeing much more demand from older residents, according to newly released hunger data for the region. Subscribe But advocates say food insecurity in this age group was already trending higher before the pandemic. The group Hunger Solutions Minnesota said there were more than 3.8 million visits to food shelves around the state in 2020. That's a more than 6% increase over 2019. Subscribe Colleen Moriarty, executive director for Hunger Solutions, said that was especially the case for seniors. "During COVID, if you had a compromising medical condition, or you had transportation issues, that a food shelf was a very good avenue of response for healthy and nutritious food," Moriarty explained.