Food pantry in Tim Walz's state caught DISCRIMINATING against people based on skin color

NORTH MINNEAPOLIS, MN- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, and the Harris-Walz campaign is currently trying to woo white male voters. The following may not help in that regard.

According to Turning Point USA, a food bank in the state is under fire after it was found providing food only to the BIPOC (black, indigenous, people-of-color) community while denying services to white residents. 

Citing the Daily Mail, it’s reported that the Food Trap Project, a food bank launched by Mykela “Keiko” Jackson using a Minnesota state grant, was supposed to help poor residents in need of food who live in the neighborhood near the Sanctuary Covenant Church in North Minneapolis. The pantry opened July 27, however was forced to close and relocate only months later after Jackson prohibited white people from getting food. 

A sign on the pantry door read, “The resources found in here are intended for Black & Indigenous Folx. Please refrain from taking anything if you’re not.” A local chaplain, Howard Dotson, who is white, said that he personally went to the pantry and was denied service because he is white. 

“This is not building community, it’s destroying it,” Dotson told Alpha News in a statement. “I went over there and confronted her. I told her that I saw the sign and I asked if she really thought she could take grant money from the state and discriminate against poor white people.” 

The state’s website, in describing the grant program, said it is “designed to reduce health disparities among African Americans and foster a ‘vibrant and thriving’ community.” Dotson takes exception to that, saying that instead of fostering a “vibrant and thriving community,” it is doing the opposite, and he is taking action, filing a complaint with the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission. 

Dotson said he confronted Jackson about the issue, and she said he could go “across the street” and get resources from the church’s free pantry if he needed it. 

Alpha News reached out to Jackson, who admitted the signage's existence but said she had not turned anyone away, nor had anyone else. 

“There was no one there directly turning them away. They felt entitled to the resources that were not there for their demographic–white privilege is real,” said Jackson. 

Imagine, if you will, if the situations were reversed and there was a “whites-only” food pantry. The hue and cry of discrimination would be echoed nationwide. However, Jackson was not moved by Dotson’s complaints, calling his Civil Rights Commission complaint “political violence.” 

“We hope these white patrons can go about their day and not harass us anymore.” 

Jackson said the grant targets black communities affected by “systemic racism” and “historical disadvantages” and said she is merely trying to right previous wrongs. 

“The community needs it and wants it, and is willing to go to bat for this cause,” she said. 

Alpha News also reached out to the Sanctuary Covenant Church for comment and received the following statement:

“When Mykela Jackson approached us to set up her Food Trap Project in our Sanctuary front field, we were excited to support her. This would be a place accessible to anyone 24x7. No registration necessary. Anyone in need would be welcome. As the Sanctuary already hosts a community food pantry, the Food Trap idea resonated with us, and we welcomed her and even paid for her electrical hook up. Ms. Jackson had laid out her entire plan with a written proposal. Nowhere in her original proposal did she indicate that she would be restricting usage to specific communities. This does not align with the vision and mission of the Sanctuary.

“When we discovered her signage and social media posts, we asked her to abide by her original proposal. Ms. Jackson was unable to do so and decided to move her Food Trap elsewhere. The deadline for moving her trap is 9/30. We’ve already cut power to it.” 

Jackson told Alpha News she had already planned to relocate the pantry before the signage controversy arose.