From KARE-11,
Meal site sponsor who billed taxpayers $7.8 million received another $1 million even after the state ordered money paid back.
The ever-alert Lou Raguse is on the story. The nonprofit involved is the New American Development Cener (NADC), based in Minneapolis.
I’ve written about this group several times over the past four years, with the most in-depth report here. NADC is a member of the Minnesota Voice coalition, dedicated to turning out the vote in support of Democratic candidates in every election cycle.
Strictly speaking, NADC is not associated with the Feeding Our Future nonprofit, but it did, independently, operate one of the state’s largest food distribution sites during the late pandemic. It ranked among the top half-dozen or so food providers in calendar year 2021, in a program overseen by the state Dept. of Education (MDE).
KARE-11 reports,
The New American Development Center is currently paying back $1.1 million to the Minnesota Department of Education after what MDE called “fraudulent claims” the nonprofit made in the embattled child nutrition program.
Fraudulent?
MDE issued a letter of serious deficiency to NADC, finding the nonprofit “engaged in unlawful practices, false and fraudulent claims.”
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled in favor of MDE, ordering NADC to repay $1.1 million.
The good news,
So far, NADC has paid back $650,000, and MDE says they are the only former meal site with a repayment plan like this.
KARE-11 mentions in its report that NADC’s CEO, Asad Aliweyd, is a past recipient of a prestigious Bush Fellowship, operated by the nonprofit Bush Foundation. Indeed, Aliweyd is listed under the 2018 class. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported at the time,
Eden Prairie’s Asad Aliweyd said he wants to improve access to culturally appropriate financing for home and business loans for people in the East African and Muslim communities.
The issue is important to Aliweyd, as a member of the Somali community and the executive director of the New American Development Center.
In the NADC nonprofit’s most recent tax return on file (for 2024), Aliweyd is listed as earning $164,000 in salary. A 2016 MPR News story lists Aliweyd as a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. He supported Bernie Sanders.
Joining Aliweyd in the class of 2018 was Hussein Farah, founder of the nonprofit New Vision Foundation. Farah is defendant No. 73 in the Feeding Our Future case and his August 2025 guilty plea made him conviction No. 54 in the sprawling scandal.
A more recent Bush Fellow is Abdirizak Diis, class of 2023. As I reported back in 2024, in advance of the first Feeding Our Future courtroom trial,
The name Abdirizak M. Diis appears six times on the exhibit list in connection with his personal banking records (listed as exhibits O-177 through O-182).
Neither Diis nor Aliweyd have been charged with any wrongdoing in the Feeding case.
But back to the point of the KARE-11 story. After NADC ran into trouble over their food invoices, Democrats in the state legislature saw fit to give the nonprofit a $1 million grant,
Back to that legislative hearing: months after the ruling that forced NADC into a rare repayment plan with MDE, the legislature approved $1 million in taxpayer dollars in direct appropriations to the nonprofit.
KARE-11 contacted the bill’s sponsor,
In response to KARE 11, Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn said she had no idea about the meal program allegations and said she would not have supported this bill if she had.
“We need to look into stronger information sharing of fraud claims between agencies and lawmakers in the future to avoid public funds going to potential bad actors,” she said in a statement.
Now she tells us. If only she had read my reporting.
State Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL) is in her fourth term representing Eden Prairie. The bill in question appears to be HF 4039 (2024), The original ask was for $2 million.
It’s good to have friends in high places.
