Our mission
To provide food, clothing, and resources to Anoka County residents in need while maintaining the dignity of those we serve.
Our history
ACBC Food Shelf was founded in 1971 by four women who wanted to help with the need for food and clothing in their community. They founded the ACBC Food Shelf in one of their basements and packed bags of food to distribute to community members. After a few years, the ACBC Food Shelf moved to the old Milk Factory and served prepackaged boxes of food out of the tiny space. To expand the organization, ACBC Food Shelf moved to its current location on 9th Ave N. in Anoka.
Through a few capital campaign expansions, the building has been renovated to include a large warehouse space, walk-in freezer, walk-in cooler, and donation sorting room in addition to the main grocery store and clothing closet.
Currently, ACBC Food Shelf offers shopping using a client choice model. Participants to walk through the store during their prescheduled appointment and choose their groceries – no different than a grocery store.
As of 2019, the food shelf is became SuperShelf certified, which included partnering with the University of Minnesota Extension Program to transform the physical food shelf space and encourage healthy eating.