How ACBC Food Shelf Helps Doug and Diane Post-Retirement

Second Harvest Heartland partner ACBC Food Shelf is the oldest and largest food shelf in Anoka County. The organization was started in 1971 by a group of women who were inspired to create a place where people could access food and clothing and build relationships with neighbors. “We have continued to do that,” explains Executive Director Stephanie Lehman. “Now we offer resource navigation as well, along with programs really designed around health, nutrition, and community.” 

Doug and Diane, a retired couple living in Anoka, had been receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on and off for a few years, but had never visited a food shelf to help make ends meet. “We had been looking for a couple of years for a place to go,” says Doug. “With the price of food continually going up as it has been—and my Social Security just doesn't match the percentage it goes up—it's been a necessity to really change our view of things.” 

When visiting the food shelf for the first time, the couple was impressed by the quality food and welcoming staff. “We just started coming a year ago in April, because living on a fixed income now is getting harder and harder,” Diane says. “We only have a tiny bit that we get from SNAP—and that was really greatly reduced—so that was making it very challenging as well.” 

Doug and Diane enjoy the produce at ACBC Food Shelf

Doug and Diane have faced many health challenges in the last few years, including Doug having a stroke, keeping him from his work as a consultant. The couple had also acted as caregivers for Doug’s mother until she passed away, which kept Diane from working. “It's been an eventful five years,” says Doug. 

Diane does the shopping for the family and says that her favorite things to get at ACBC are fruits and vegetables, proteins, and household products like toilet paper that she can’t use SNAP benefits to purchase. She has even been able to find the brand of cat food that their cat enjoys at the food shelf. “Here we can choose what we want and not take what we don't want, and I think that's important,” says Doug. 

Doug and Diane talk about ACBC with their friends and neighbors, letting them know what a great place it is to visit and get food. “We let them know that, if they come here, that the people are very nice, they're extremely helpful. They can shop—it's just like a grocery store,” says Doug. “Quite a few have come down and joined. We have somebody in our apartment right now setting an appointment to come soon.”