CAPI connects immigrants, refugees, and our communities with the nutrition, health, and human service resources they need to thrive.

FOOD & NUTRITION SERVICES

Through our food and nutrition programs, we promote healthy communities, partnerships, community involvement and volunteerism.

CAPI Food Shelf

CAPI’s food shelf serves all those in need by providing culturally specific foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. Participants shop for the groceries that best fit their dietary and family needs through a client choice shopping model.

Food Shelf Hours

OPEN
Tuesdays – 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Wednesdays and Thursdays – 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

(the food shelf is closed from 12:00 p.m. – 1 p.m. for lunch)

CLOSED
Mondays and Friday

Location: 5930 Brooklyn Blvd, Brooklyn Center MN 55429

Food Shelf Enrollment:

CAPI is no longer providing curbside pickup. Those visiting the food shelf may come inside and choose their own items. Call or text 612-263-1498 or email Melissa Xiong for information on the food shelf program. You can also call or text Tony Vang at 612-263-2185. No appointment is needed. Please bring a form of identification with you. Those in need of emergency assistance may come to pick up items once every six months.

Eligibility Guidelines
  • Resident of Hennepin County
  • 300% or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines

Fresh Food Thursdays

CAPI distributes FREE fresh produce from summer through early fall on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at our office in Brooklyn Center. Numbers are handed out at 12:30 pm and distribution begins at 1 pm ending at 3 pm.

Fresh Produce Distribution Dates for 2023:

July 13th, July 27th, August 10th, August 24th, September 14th, and October 12th

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

The SNAP program is intended as a supplement to help individuals and families purchase healthy and nutritious foods. Eligibility for the program depends on your household size and income. CAPI provides screening and application assistance for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) for people of all ages.

Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS)

CAPI is a satellite distribution site for the Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS), which is Minnesota’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program. This is a USDA program administered by the Minnesota Department of Health. The program is designed to provide a monthly box of healthy and nutritious foods to low-income individuals over the age of 60 at no cost.

Eligibility
  • Over age 60
  • Meet income guideline
  • Prepare your own meals (not living in a facility that provides meals)
  • Participants are required to provide recently postmarked mail with name and address, knowledge of current gross monthly household income, and picture ID.

Community Gardening

The CAPI Gardens Project empowers immigrants and refugees, particularly immigrant and refugee women, to become community leaders through gardening and small-scale farming. The gardens create access to and utilization of affordable, healthy, fresh, and culturally suitable food for Hmong, Laotian, and other Southeast Asian immigrant families.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

CAPI’s holistic approach to health and wellness helps build healthy families and communities. We provide culturally and linguistically appropriate access to health care, health information, and public benefits enrollment assistance; offer senior programs; and support caregivers.

MNSure Outreach and Enrollment

CAPI conducts MNSure outreach and provides navigation and enrollment services for uninsured individuals. Our bilingual staff and volunteers help people understand, apply, and enroll for health coverage through the Marketplace.

CAPI serves as the lead agency of a 3-agency collaboration to conduct outreach and enroll.

Our certified MNsure navigators can assist with the following:

  • Consumer Assessment
  • Consumer Education
  • Account Creation and Maintenance
  • Application and Renewal of Coverage
  • Eligibility
  • Enrollment
  • Exemptions

Hmong Seniors Program

The Hmong Seniors Program is designed to improve the quality of life and enable seniors to stay and live independently at home and prevent long-term nursing home placements. The program connects Hmong seniors and their caregivers to support services in the community.

CAPI senior advocates can help Hmong seniors apply for benefits including senior housing, Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Savings Program, social security benefits, SNAP and food benefits, and energy assistance. Staff can also provide information and referrals to Hmong Seniors about housing, medical and financial services. CAPI’s bilingual staff are also able to provide interpretation and translation services for Hmong Seniors.

Services provided to seniors include:

  • Person-centered case management services
  • Transportation for shopping, medical appointments, or other activities
  • Social and educational program activities
  • Volunteer companions

Caregiver Program

The Caregiver Program encourages independent living for Hmong older adults and those with disabilities by empowering their caregivers. CAPI works with caregivers who provide care for their relatives (grandparents, parents, and other members of their extended family), serving as a resource as they confront the economic, social, and medical difficulties often associated with caring for their loved ones.

Through this program, caregivers gain the skills necessary to access support services and become empowered to make decisions that will improve the quality of life for them and their loved ones.

Services provided for caregivers include:

  • Social and educational program activities
  • Coaching and counseling services
  • Access assistance services

Benefits Enrollment Center

CAPI’s Benefits Enrollment Center (BEC) is part of a national network of BECs funded through the National Council on Aging. The BEC provides coordinated people-centered services to enroll low-income seniors and younger adults with disabilities in programs connected to health care, prescriptions, food, utilities, transportation assistance, and more.

Navigators can assist Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in five core areas including:

  • Medicare Part D Extra Help/Low-Income Subsidy (LIS)
  • Medicare Savings Programs
  • Medicaid
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Eligibility:

  • Medicare beneficiaries 65 years of age or older
  • Individuals with disabilities who are Medicare eligible
  • Benefits eligibility may be based on household size and income

“Thank you for helping me… now I can get my normal life back.”

– Se Lee