CAC: The need for a local response

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The time is now and so I’ll be brief. What felt like a far-off issue is now significantly impacting our friends and neighbors right here in Faribault, Northfield, and throughout Rice County. The continued government shutdown means that 4,000 individuals in Rice County, including 1,700 children in our schools, are facing a November without the support of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other resources. This is going to hurt friends of yours, neighbors of mine, the family next to you in church, and children in our classrooms.

Today, I am not interested in the endless, banal, partisan, and unfeeling talking points saturating our political conversations. I’m just really worried about our community and the incredible people who call this home. In the face of shutdowns, CAC is going to open up. In a season of chaos, CAC is standing firm. And in a time of scarcity, CAC is leaning into abundance.

CAC is you. You are CAC. We are neighbors helping neighbors. People impacted by the government shutdown are being directed to local food shelves; we need to rapidly increase our capacity. Let’s open up, standing firm in abundance.

Community Response Fund We need $100,000 to purchase additional food for the month of November. If this continues into December, this will grow to over $200,000. SNAP provides nearly $600,000 per month of benefits in Rice County. CAC’s purchasing power is currently about 6:1, meaning we can buy about $6 of groceries for $1. 100% of all donations to this fund will go directly to food purchases and other assistance.

CAC SNAP Volunteer Effort To mobilize this much additional food and support, we need volunteers on standby so that CAC can adapt quickly to get more food to more families. As the needs become clear, we’d love to keep you updated with opportunities to volunteer and help.

Do you feel the swirl of everything in motion? Too much going on politically, nationally, or even internationally? This is an invitation to focus locally on the people we call friends and neighbors.

If you are scared and need help, please know you will be welcomed at CAC — you are not alone. For those of you who have already responded generously, thank you!

Take care of yourselves, but let’s take care of each other too.

Scott Wopata

Executive Director

Community Action Center

gro.retnecnoitcaytinummoc@ttocs.atapow