In the middle of a global crisis, as families struggled to afford groceries and school lunches,

disappeared during COVID-19 lockdowns, one Minnesota nonprofit positioned itself as a lifeline.

It was called Feeding Our Future, and its stated mission was noble.

Feed underserved children across the state using emergency federal aid, but beneath the surface, the operation was

anything but generous. At the center of the storm was Amy Bach, the organization's founder,

an executive director. A former educator and advocate, Bach has spent years building her

public profile as someone passionate about equity and education and

food access. But in the shadows, she allegedly orchestrated a sprawling scheme that would defraud

the government of over $250 million, a sum that should have gone to hungry children, but instead

funded luxury lifestyles, high-end real estate, and personal gain.

It started with a federal food assistance program known as the Federal Child Nutrition Program

administered during the pandemic through state-level agencies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had loosened its rules to make it easier for organizations to distribute

meals to children who were no longer in school. That flexibility, designed to address a public

emergency, became a vulnerability. Feeding our future took full advantage. Between 2020 and

2022, the organization submitted documentation to the Minnesota Department of Education,

stating that it and its network of partners were feeding millions of children at hundreds of locations across the state.

One site claimed to serve 5,000 children a day.

Another operating out of a tiny second-story apartment reported serving thousands of meals daily.

The numbers were staggering and fictitious. According to federal prosecutors feeding our future fabricated meal counts,

created fake invoices, and submitted falsified attendance rosters to claim reimbursement.

In reality, many of the meal distribution sites didn't serve any food at all.

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