By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
In the last few years since the pandemic, the CAC has grown at an incredible rate, expanding beyond Northfield to serve all of Rice County. This has included opening a second food shelf location in Northfield, at the Community Education Center, and a location in Faribault. Here’s Lisa Percy with the CAC:
“During the pandemic, one of Faribault’s main food shelters closed, and so the community reached out to the CAC and said, ‘how can you help us?’ And so the community invited us in and we hope we have been good stewards.” – Project Manager of the CAC Lisa Percy on the KYMN Morning Show
Recently, Executive Director of the CAC Scott Wopata has started a series of letters discussing the organization’s need and role in the community. Wopata stated that is was “Surprising” to him that 35% of people in Northfield and Faribault rely on the CAC for help. In an effort to better understand the community, Wopata identified three different sources of data for information. First is data from the school districts. 30% of students in Northfield and 70% of students in Faribault are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Housing studies conducted by Rice County in 2024 have shown that a 45% of renters in the county are “housing cost burdened.” which is when the cost of housing makes up more than 30% of the household’s income. The last piece of data is a United Way, ALICE (families that are “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed”) report that shows that 42% of all Rice County households earn less than the minimum amount needed based on the local price of goods and services.
We will continue following Wopata’s series of letters to the community about the CAC. You can find the first letter here and the second letter here
