This place is sort of remote, away from the action.  How do people get here?  "Transportation is a tough one.  People can't always get here and there.  They call friends for a ride.  We began a program to receive old cars and fix them up for our clients, but they are expensive to maintain."
How long has there been a food shelf in this area?  "At least 20 years.  The thrift shop is 25 years old.  Some of our volunteers have also been there 25 years."
How did the food shelf  get started?  "The CAP Agency began with President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty in the mid 1960's.  These agencies are located across the nation and they are very com-munity based.  In other words, they respond to the needs and resources in their particular areas.
"And then, about 20 years ago, the local CAP Agency began the food shelf.  At that time there were individuals in Carver and Scott counties who were running food shelves from their homes, with some support from local churches.
"But the need grew beyond their capacity to do this work from their homes and they came to the CAP Agency for assistance."
When is the busiest time of year  for you?  "Winter picks up business around the holidays, so these are very busy times for us, and also during the summer because kids are home and there are no school lunches."
What do people receive when they come to the food shelf?  "They get five days worth of food based on family size, and we try to give them nutritionally balanced food."
Who chooses what the people receive when they visit the food shelf?  "The clients themselves choose their food, and we have guidelines posted so they have an idea of how to balance meals and nutri-tion."
What are the most needed or requested food items?  "Protein kinds of things.  Peanut butter and tuna are big.  The basics are always needed, always good.  Think of what you buy for your own family.  That's what people who come here also need."
Where do you get most of the stock for your food shelf?  "Churches and civic groups like the Boy Scouts.  Also Lions clubs, postal workers, youth and school groups.  The St. Victoria seventh graders are doing a food drive for Christmas.  Not only do we appreciate the food, it's nice for the kids to have that experience of giving.
"We get all of our day-old bread from area grocery stores.  We have several drivers who make the rounds to pick it up for us.  And we buy a lot of our food from Second Harvest Heartland."
What is Second Harvest?  "It is located in Minneapolis.  Lots of big food corporations donate to Second Harvest, and Second Harvest distributes it to food shelves for like 12-cents a pound, enough to cover their warehouses costs.  Also, Second Harvest gets food from the United States Department of Agriculture."
Do people have to buy the food when they come here?  "No.  They do not pay for the food.  And we don't turn anyone away for food.  We know there must be something going on in their lives or they wouldn't be here in the first place.  Then we do an intake with families to help determine their need."
Who is eligible to get food here?  "Anyone who asks.  We do inquire about their income, but we don't say, 'You make too much money.'"
How do people in need know about this place?  "It's generally through word of mouth or referrals from the county social services.  We work closely with our counties and churches.  Almost everybody who works with families -- like teachers and doctors and pastors -- know we are here."
If someone gave the food shelf a check for $100 or $1,000 for Christmas, how would it be used?  "We would buy food or use it for food shelf expenses."
What kind of expenses?  "We have large refrigeration units to keep eggs and meat fresh for our clients, for example.  Volunteers make bread and bakery runs every day to the local grocery stores and we reimburse their mileage.  Also, we need to supplement what is not given to us."
How much does it cost to run the food shelf?  "It is difficult to give a food shelf expense figure because so much of it is donated food and labor.  If I gave you a figure of $500,000, it would be mislead-ing.  I can tell you that major cash costs are food purchases, space costs, the part time coordinator salary, and staff mem-bers who interview clients regarding needs and services.
"Our whole CAP Agency costs about $12 million a year.  Energy assistance alone is close to 2 million of that.  There are poverty guidelines for our programs like Energy Assistance and Headstart."
Are there many salaries to pay?  "We have 160 staff members, not all of them full time.  I get a salary.  People working the cash register at the thrift shop get paid.  We have one paid coordinator for the food shelf, and the food shelf is only 50% of her job.  Last year we had 50 food shelf people who volunteered over 6,000 hours.  As a whole, the CAP Agency received 45,000 hours from 1,557 volunteers."
Do you have enough volunteers?  "We can always use more.  The volunteer pool has really shrunk because people are out working themselves.  And our older volunteers are getting older.  We have a big territory with the three counties, so if a volunteer comes in from Watertown, for example, they may only be able to do one trip for us.  People generally like to work within their own county.  Our service area is more than twice the size of Ramsey and Hennepin Counties combined.  This CAP Agency serves more than 1,200 square miles."
Just what is the CAP Agency?  "It is part of a nationwide network of Commu-nity Action Programs, but we find it easier for people to just identify it as the CAP Agency.  Nobody owns it.  It's a private non-profit organization that expands be-yond the food shelf and thrift shop.   "Besides Headstart and Energy Assistance, as I already mentioned, it includes Congregate Dining and Meals on Wheels for our Seniors.  It includes Crisis Nursery, Transitional and Supportive Housing. 
"The list is long, and so our expen-ditures become great.  We also provide some emergency services and gas vouchers."
Who makes the top decisions?  "We have an 18-member board of directors, six from each of the three counties including two from the various county boards."
So this huge building houses all of the CAP Agency?  "Yes.  We can enroll whole families here, not just the child.  We can be more efficient in helping with education, job search, counseling, food, clothes, whatever causes them to be living in poverty.  Most of their needs can be dealt with under this one roof."

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