CAC’s network of three food shelves covers much of Rice County and distributes over 1.75 million pounds of food and 500,000 diapers annually. With a focus on fresh, healthy, and culturally specific foods, our community-informed, community-tailored approach ensures equitable access to food for those facing food insecurity.

We strive to create an experience for our community that feels safe, abundant, and dignified. Some rely on our food shelves regularly, while others come more sporadically when needed.

• The food shelf always offers fresh produce, dairy products, eggs, meat, grains, shelf stable protein, cooking and baking ingredients, and more.
• We often have personal hygiene items, household products, as well as baby food and diapers.
• We provide additional food to seniors through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).
• We do our best to honor dietary restrictions, allergies, and culturally specific food requests.
• Food visits are walk-in and first-come, first-served, although morning check-ins at the main Northfield location are determined by a random lottery to reduce wait times.
• When you visit the food shelf, other help is available. Staff can assist with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications, and answer other questions related to employment, financial assistance, housing, recovery, and more.

There are lots of ways to contribute to the food shelf: volunteer your time, donate food, diapers, or money, host a food or diaper drive, or assemble care bags for the community.