For the past 46 years, the Southern Anoka Community Assistance (SACA) has been a bulwark against hunger for residents of Columbia Heights, Fridley, Hilltop, Spring Lake Park and Northeast Minneapolis. Its tiny staff, (three full time, two part time) manage a food distribution center that in 2021 served 49,000 individuals, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number nearly double that of 2018. Clearly they had lots of help.
SACA Co-director Dave Rudolph said that they weathered the increase even with a sharp drop in volunteers, from around 55 per month in early 2020 to around 12 today. Rudolph said they are the backbone of the operation, noting that more than 90% of the hours logged in the facility are volunteer hours. Most of the volunteers tended to be older, and therefore more at risk during the pandemic, and many have not yet returned. And while there’s no typical volunteer, many are retired, or just people who want to give back, on a day-to day-basis. It can be difficult for people who are still working full time to give more than a few hours at a time.
SACA’s current building at Madison Street and 38th Avenue NE went up in 2000 on the site where an old single-family house had served as headquarters for the group. It houses the administrative offices, a check-in window, a food market (including food shelves and refrigerated cases for frozen food, meats and produce), a warehouse and a thrift store, with items at “yard-sale” prices.
Pre-pandemic, food shelf customers would go to a check-in window in the office and look over a menu of items available. That changed to curb service, where a modified menu was brought out to the car or volunteers could read off on the phone. This included a holiday meal for either Thanksgiving or Christmas (but not both) that included turkey, cranberries and all the fixings. The market and thrift store reopened last month.
Rudolph noted that the operation itself was completely closed for “just a couple of days, as a precaution against exposure. It’s been great just to see people again.” Still, several fundraisers during that period had to be curtailed. “We snuck in our Hops for Hunger drive in October of last year before omicron came in. We just had it again this year this March.”
SACA is funded through donations from individuals, churches, corporations, and various private and public grants, and like most nonprofits, its revenue stream can be somewhat unpredictable. Rudolph spends most of his time in outreach and fundraising, while Co-director Elaine Walker runs the day-to-day operations. He said SACA has “Sort of a ‘mud on the wall’ approach; somebody sends us a check for $20 or $100 or $1,000. We have three donation letters that go out a year, and March is Minnesota FoodShare month. And we have one where a percentage of what we bring in for donations is matched by some foundations, which varies every year.” He said when COVID-19 first hit, many grants were available from foundations and state and local governments, but lately those have become fewer. Funding is always critical, of course; Rudolph says that a donated dollar can translate into 10 pounds of food, and last year 800,000 pounds of food were distributed.
Where does the food come from? “We get food from what’s called ‘food rescue,’ from outlets like Cub, Target and Trader Joe’s, where food has been in the stores for several days and is still good but might not meet the stores’ professional standards.” Baked goods, meats and produce are time-sensitive items and sometimes have to be discarded after being donated. Even then, the food can find a use at a wildlife science center, or be given to composters.
Another thing on Rudolph’s mind is the need for more room for SACA’s mission. The rapid increase in demand for its services has strained their 6,000-sq.-ft. space, and a capital fund has been started to build a new facility, with a plan to nearly double the current building’s capacity. They have a site in mind, farther north in Columbia Heights, for a building and property that SACA would own outright.
Rudolph said more than 70% of the people who use the food shelf have some source of income – a job, a pension or Social Security – but it’s just not enough, especially if they are seniors or have health issues. “So often, we can be the difference between having to choose between buying food or making a house payment or paying rent.” He added that it can be hard for people to ask for help, even when they really need it. “If we can treat people with dignity and respect, that’s what it’s all about.”
Below: SACA Co-director Dave Rudolph says volunteer help is always needed. Donated quilts at SACA. (Photos by Mark Peterson)
