Minnesota’s hunger crisis is growing—and apparently so is the appetite for big executive pay at one of the state’s top food nonprofits.
Allison O’Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, earned $721,000 in total compensation in 2022—even as the nonprofit has lobbied for taxpayer funding and warned of rising hunger across Minnesota, where 26% of households with children are food insecure, according to its own research.
Now, as O’Toole steps down after six years at the helm, lawmakers are raising questions.
Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing, told Alpha News that O’Toole’s salary issue first surfaced during a recent “food day” at the Capitol, when food shelf representatives, including O’Toole, testified before the House Children and Families Committee.
“Rep. Bjorn Olson pulled the 990 [tax form] and shared Allison O’Toole’s salary with our committee members right before she testified,” Altendorf said. “That’s when the questions started.”