MPLS Immigrant Food Crisis - Source's Response
– Do what we have always done –
Food & Prayer
Healthy Food and Good News to those in need.
Source provides $4 million of food relief annually to 100,000 individuals belonging to 25,000 households – 500 families a week receive an average of 75 pounds each.
Even though the number of ICE officers has decreased, we continue to hear of Source program participants and/or their friends or relatives getting arrested almost every day. As a result, many Latino immigrants continue to be fearful that their families will be separated if they leave their homes.
Amongst the storm: Food & Prayer have increased. We don’t make political statements – we continue to provide food to the poor (increasing food to 1,000 families weekly) and pastoral council and prayers to hundreds. We see many tears and many prayers, and when there is a need, we offer online mentoring groups and Alpha.
Fathers and even mothers who are part of Source programs and La Fuente Church have been arrested. One father and one mother from different families were released and had incredible testimonies of sharing their faith with dozens, and seeing individuals make first-time commitments.
1,000 Families Weekly – Latino Staff
Our food demand has doubled to 1,000 families weekly. Our staff includes 9 Latinos who are providing emotional and spiritual support to thousands of individuals. We have hundreds of new volunteers coming from all over the city, surrounding communities, and even across the country. In response to this increased need, we are seeing God open hearts, minds, and awareness in an outpouring of blessings, prayers, and faith commitments. We are humbled and grateful to see how God is using our gifted staff to provide increased pastoral care and our dedicated volunteers to be His hands and feet.
Immigrant Crisis: Heartbreaks & Miracles
Sharing Faith While Detained
Fathers and even mothers that we know by name and are connected with have been arrested weekly. These are individuals our staff has ministered to for years, baptized, and mentored. Some serve at our food shelf, Alpha, and La Fuente church each week.
Andrea and Jose became connected through the Women’s Drop-In hours when they first arrived in the country with two young children. Soon they were attending La Fuente Bible Study and Sunday church. They were introduced to faith in Christ, were baptized in the summer of 2025, and became our most consistent volunteers at the food shelf. Jose was detained in December, and to the lawyer’s surprise, was released 3 weeks later. While he was being held, he reported, “I couldn’t stop talking about Jesus.” He witnessed 3 first-time commitments by other detainees and was released to his family after supporters prayed, wrote letters, and served as character witnesses at his court dates.
Jessi and Christian, along with Micah, their middle school son, are weekly volunteers and La Fuente attendees as well. Jessi was arrested with little information. 10 days later, she was released. She also testified that, “I shared Jesus with 70 women. I don’t know what happened…God was with me!”
We rejoice with these testimonies. Join us in praying for Jose and Jessi, who are unsure about their futures. We are praying for many others we know who have been arrested and face uncertain futures. Pray for their spouses and children.
Source is blessed to have an established Immigrant Outreach that includes 9 committed Latino staff/interns serving in ministry and outreach; we are known as the people who feed and pray for those in need. Many of our staff and regular volunteers have close connections to friends and family who have been affected by turmoil. Although each situation has its own unique circumstances, as pastors, our mission to serve and pray remains clear and consistent.
We’ve also seen a significant increase in volunteers from across the city and beyond as churches, schools, and other community organizations partner with Source to create networks of support and prayer.
7 Children Without Parents: Source Network Comes Together
Prayers for the Children
A Source volunteer connected us with a family of seven children, infant to 20 years old, whose only parent was arrested and taken to Texas. We were able to use our network to reunite them with an aunt and uncle and find housing for the whole extended family. A partnership of individuals from several area local churches formed to create a network of support. Evylin, a neighbor and Source staff member from Ecuador, is providing daily assistance with food and schooling needs.
We are helping make arrangements for the family to be together in the future, whether that be in the U.S. or another country. Pray for the children, their families, the staff, and the volunteers who provide physical, emotional, and spiritual support. Also, pray for the children in many households, as they carry a lot of anxiety and stress for their own family, or the families of schoolmates during this time.
1,000 Families Weekly: Food Need Doubles & Volunteers Respond
How We’re Helping
We are organizing volunteer drivers on short notice to help deliver groceries or give rides. In addition to our weekly pedestrian and drive-up food shelf services, we have pivoted to serve 600-800 home deliveries through volunteer drivers and mobile pop-ups at local churches and organizations.
Over the last two months, we have seen food demand surge at the same time as our regular Latino volunteers, who provided 100+ weekly volunteer hours, stopped coming. We were unsure how we would keep going until word spread and volunteers began showing up for prayer, packing, and deliveries.
Over the past month, we’ve logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours, enabling us to distribute 200,000 lbs. of food. $400,000 of healthy food relief to thousands of families through deliveries, distributions, and mobile pop-up church/school networks — THANK YOU!
In addition to food support, we are providing:
• Prayer: In-person and live video prayer times are posted throughout the week on the Source FB page and at sourcemn.org/get-involved
• Pastoral care: La Fuente staff home visits, or via phone/online, Alpha online
• Rent & Legal Assistance: Through our Mobile Link fund
• Food & Diaper Drives: Coordinating drives with local organizations and businesses
Get Involved
Text “ImmigrantSource” to 41444
Food demand has doubled to 1,000 families per week, increasing costs from $10K to $20K per week.
1st Quarter 2026 Immigrant Crisis Food & Housing Fund:
– Goal $180,000 ($130K Food & $50K Housing Assistance)
– Resulting in over $1 Million of food relief to 13,000 families
Our Food Budget for the first quarter is $130,000. As demands double, so have our costs. Pray with us that we may be able to meet the current demands for food, plus offer Housing Assistance.
– Donate sourcemn.org/donate/
– Raise awareness of needs by sharing Source on Instagram and Facebook and Mobile Page
– Volunteer (Volunteer needs & times are updated weekly at SourceMn.org/Get-Involved)
– Need Food, or know someone who does?: Coordinate food drop-off for families in need within your church, school or other organization Share Mobile Link
Prayer Tears & Tear Gas At Our Front Door
Fear and unrest at our front door
Some food recipients and staff in the area were exposed to tear gas. Our neighborhood began to be flooded with protesters, and one of the ICE perimeters was 100 feet from our front door. Some local businesses began boarding up their windows as everyone was worried about riots like those in 2020 (especially as night fell).
The day ended with Source participating in a city-wide prayer vigil that was significant and healing. The night was peaceful, and the makeshift barricades on the street were removed by morning. The Minneapolis Police Department has been present, and the memorial site has seemed peaceful and orderly.
Women's Center '25 Campaign Update
The 2025 Campaign kicked off with a strong start, meeting a growing need.
The 3-year campaign for our new Women’s Center kicked off with $250,000 worth of donations (over 25% of our total goal). Thank you to all who donated, and a special thanks to DKY Inc. for providing marketing support and graphics for the campaign and the 2025 Fall Gathering.
We had 1,400 visits during our drop-in hours last year, highlighting the need for more showers and laundry facilities. We currently have only one of each, so demand far exceeds supply, especially since our Drop-In center is one of the very few places that provide this support.
We encourage you to share our campaign within your church, organization, and social circle. We will continue to host informational brunches for small groups interested in learning more about the Women’s Center’s needs and opportunities for support. Contact Source to organize a date for your group.
Holiday Outreach Overview
were wonderful successes.
Over 500 families participated in Toys for Tots and our holiday grocery giveaway. At the Christmas With Dignity Dinner, 150 people attended a family-style sit-down dinner, complete with black tablecloths and formal place settings. It was a special night, and it was great to see parents with young children get very excited when Santa arrived! We also had teenagers attend alone, without any family members, which both broke our hearts and reminded us why we host events like this. It was very heartwarming to be one big family in service and spirit during the holidays.
Thank you to Wooddale Baptist, Rick and Julie Nessly, Allie’s ministry, and the many volunteers who made this happen!
Praise & Prayers
Join us for prayer in person and online via SourceMN Facebook. Updates will be posted weekly on FB and at sourcemn.org/get-involved:
• God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth and in this time as it is in heaven.
• Peace within this storm for families and for the unrest in the city. Pray for de-escalation, no one else gets harmed, justice, and all people are treated with dignity.
• Immigrant Families and children: undocumented, work permits, visa, and citizens are all fearful. Pray for the children as they often absorb much of the tension. Pray that they experience Jesus as their rock and fortress during these times of trouble.
• Pray for those arrested and their families.
• Pray for justice, and that all people be treated with dignity. For those who have been deported: provision for their families and discernment for next steps.
• Pray for the 5 families in Source Supportive Housing. Pray for Jose, who was released on bail but whose status is uncertain. Pray for the family of 7 children whose parents were arrested — arrangements are being made to place the mother and children together in their home country; however, the mother is currently in the hospital.
• Praise for the dedication and commitment of the Source staff, friends, and family who have been working extra hours and providing care for communities in many different ways.
• Praise for an expanding network of volunteers who are showing up consistently and sharing Source needs and opportunities within their communities.
• Prayer and praise for those who have made first-time commitments to follow Christ, as well as those new to their faith, in our Alpha and mentoring groups.
• Pray for Source: 30% of staff are Latino. Some are directly connected and have been providing pastoral counseling/praying with families daily. Some of the people they have mentored and baptized have self-deported, been arrested, and are in great fear. All staff hold lawful work permits or visas, but they remain concerned that they may be arrested or that their permits and visas will not be renewed later this year.
• Pray for staff as we doubled our food distributions and have many requests for rent assistance. • Pray for provision as our food expenses increase from $10k to $20k weekly – $70k increase in January and February.
THANK YOU again for your prayers, donations, and volunteer service – together we are God’s hands, feet, and heart!
Register Here for the
Source Annual Golf Fundraiser!
Source MN: Our Core Missions - Food & Prayer
About Source Mn
Urban Outreach – Anti-Trafficking – Est 1987
Source Mn – Immigrant Outreach,
– Minneapolis Non-Profit, est 1987,
– $3.5 Million Food Relief Annually, 50% Latino Staff,
– 100% of donations to Immigrant Outreach go to direct support
– 501(c)(3) All Donations are Tax Deductible
Source has always been committed to meeting both physical needs through food and spiritual needs through prayer and faith initiatives.
Since 1987, Source has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, currently part of the ECFA, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and participates in annual GAAP audits.
Less than 15% of our annual budget is provided by state and county food relief funds. Source is the seventh largest food shelf in Hennepin County and in the top 10% in the state. From 2020 to 2025, Source has provided over $18 million of food relief. These numbers are verified through registrations and filling out annual TEFAP forms for every visitor. Food portions are weighed at each distribution, multiplied by attendance at that distribution, and recorded for each event. All events are posted on our website, and we welcome the public to come participate and observe.
Source welcomes all backgrounds, beliefs, races, and nationalities to attend our programs. Typically, over 50% of staff are POC.
We have received countless messages, calls, and tears of gratitude from families who have been deeply encouraged by simple, personal prayers. There is real power in the Holy Spirit working through human connection.
We encourage delivery drivers to share prayer in one of the following ways:
A brief in-person prayer when families come to the door
A handwritten prayer note left with groceries
A follow-up prayer or encouragement sent via text after delivery
Thank you again for your continued support, prayers, and faithful service during this difficult season.
May God bring peace in the midst of this storm and be a fortress for those living in fear.
With gratitude,
The Source Team