By Maya Betti, KYMN News Intern
The Community Action Center, or CAC, has experienced remarkable growth in both its staff and impact in recent years, reflecting the increasing needs of the community across Rice County.
When Senior Director Anika Richner joined CAC in 2018, just 11 staff members were attending staff meetings. Today, that number has grown to over 50.
Within the same time period, the organization expanded from serving around 4,000 people to nearly 17,000.
Currently, more than 20% of Rice County residents are receiving services from the organization, according to Richner.
That scale-up has brought new challenges. Internally, CAC is grappling with infrastructure needs, expanding its administrative system, and managing a growing portfolio of grants and funding.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how quickly we’ve grown and how many people we are serving. And so it’s just important to know as we think about what our community needs, and as we continue to listen and and how we need that kind of support from the greater community too,” – Anika Richer of the CAC on KYMN’s Something I Have Always Wondered About
Much of CAC’s expansion can be traced back to the early days of the pandemic. In April 2020, one of Faribault’s two food shelves shut down unexpectedly. Suddenly, thousands of residents were left without reliable food access, according to Richner.
“Our neighbors in Faribault, local partners, the school district, other nonprofit partners called CAC and said, we have people who need food. They can’t either, can’t get to the food shelf. They have other barriers,” – Anika Richer of the CAC on KYMN’s Something I Have Always Wondered About
Two the CAC’s programs currently underway
The CAC began working with local organizations to source food behind the scenes, while distributions were set up in just under a dozen locations across Faribault. With such intense need, CAC quickly realized the temporary setup wasn’t sustainable and began looking for a long-term solution.
“It got to a point where we needed to figure out what was more sustainable and what made sense for the community. Because listening to community members, people don’t people typically don’t want a box of food that they haven’t chosen. People want to choose their own food, and there’s less waste that way,”– Anika Richer of the CAC on KYMN’s Something I Have Always Wondered About
So in November 2021, CAC opened a new Resource Center and food shelf in Faribault, built on a “choice model” where clients can select their own groceries. It’s a more dignified and sustainable system, according to Richner.
The Resource Center, while a success, was also quickly outgrown – pretty much as soon as it opened its doors
“We didn’t realize at the time, how great the need was… there’s just a lot of challenges with that kind of growth,” – Anika Richer of the CAC on KYMN’s Something I Have Always Wondered About
However, even with these new challenges, the CAC is dedicated to continuing to serve its community members across Rice County. As need continues, CAC continues to evolve – one response at a time.
Newscasts on KYMN air on weekdays at 6am, 7am, 8:30am, Noon, 3pm, and 5pm. If you miss it live, you can subscribe on your preferred podcast app:
> Click here to listen on Spotify
> Click here to listen on Apple Podcast
Do you have a news tip or press release? Send it to us email: Logan@kymnradio.net
