Purpose

Provide funding to support the Lutheran Social Services CORE program so it can deliver home-delivered meals to veterans outside the Twin Cities area (outside Hennepin and Ramsey Counties) and offer technical enrollment outreach and volunteer recruitment assistance to partner programs.

Main Provisions

• Creates a onetime appropriation of funding for the CORE program.
• It directs 500,000 dollars in fiscal year 2026 and 500,000 dollars in fiscal year 2027 from Minnesota’s general fund to the commissioner of veterans affairs as a grant to Lutheran Social Services CORE program.
• The grant is intended to support home-delivered meals for veterans outside Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, plus technical enrollment outreach and volunteer recruitment assistance to CORE member programs.

Funding and Duration

• Source: general fund.
• Amounts: 500,000 in FY2026 and 500,000 in FY2027.
• This is a one-time appropriation; the law allows any unencumbered balance from the first year to remain available into the second year.

Geographic Scope and Population Served

• Services targeted to veterans in Minnesota who live outside Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.
• Includes outreach and enrollment assistance to veterans and to member programs serving veterans.

Reporting and Accountability

• The CORE program must report by September 1 each year to:
  • the commissioner of veterans affairs, and
  • the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over veterans affairs policy and finance.
• Reports must include:
  • a detailed explanation of how the grant money was used, and
  • the number of veterans and service members served by the program.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Establishes a new, onetime appropriation to fund the CORE program’s activities outside the two core counties and related outreach efforts.
• Creates annual reporting requirements tied to this funding to ensure transparency and accountability.

Relevant Terms - CORE program - Lutheran Social Services - home-delivered meals - veterans - general fund - commissioner of veterans affairs - grant - enrollment outreach - volunteer recruitment - member programs - unencumbered balance - onetime appropriation - fiscal year 2026 (FY2026) - fiscal year 2027 (FY2027) - reporting deadline: September 1 - chairs and ranking minority members - legislative committees (veterans affairs policy and finance) - outside Hennepin and Ramsey Counties