A cooperative is a business built with, and for, the neighborhood it serves. Community has always been a daily practice at Mississippi Market Co-op and in Minnesota as a whole. In the Twin Cities right now, this history of neighborhood-level organizing is revealing the real strength and depth of community here. Alongside a growing commitment to turn toward one another, together we are inspiring people across the globe. And at any time, you are invited into this moment and this movement, too.
Resistance shows up in shared meals, art, and grocery deliveries, a local chat thread that keeps people informed, and, very importantly, showing up when the lives and livelihoods of our neighbors are at risk.
Start where you are and start right now
Agency and action build momentum. Monarca runs multiple upstander training courses each week. If you are feeling overwhelmed, training can help you feel supported and understand your role.
Look to the nonprofits and organizations already working near you. For each:
- Follow their social media
- Sign up for newsletters
- Respond when they ask for volunteers
- Donate to support their work – any amount will help!
Put yourself in the loop, so that you can hear about immediate needs and take action to help.
If you haven’t already, connect with your neighbors
Now is a good time to know the people you live by. Learn names. Trade phone numbers. Ask who has kids, who works nights, who might need a ride, and who speaks which languages. Neighborhood strength grows through relationships built early, and urgency can still be a starting point.
Food access
Food access often becomes a pressure point when communities experience disruption.
St. Paul Community Action Network operates a Community Pantry and Closet at Indigenous Roots, serving highly impacted areas of Saint Paul.
You can also review organizations that signed on to the Nonprofit Hunger-Relief Organizations Serving Minnesota statement to identify additional food access groups to support across the region.
Housing access
Housing stability supports everything else. These partners operate emergency rent assistance programs:
- Neighborhood House has served immigrants and refugees in Saint Paul for more than 128 years. Their work includes food support and housing stability through crisis financial assistance.
- HOME Line offers tenant advocacy, legal support, and renter trainings throughout the Twin Cities.
- The Emergency Rent Fund, hosted by Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (CTUL), is hosting a rapid response fund for low-wage and immigrant workers who are facing threats to their safety
Legislative pressure
This is effective and decidedly practical. Read your city council agendas. Show up to a meeting or watch one online. Send emails. Make phone calls.
Lean away from a perfectionist mindset here; you do not need to be an expert. Your local and national representatives have signed up for this and are real people, like you, who live in our communities and care about them.
Find My Ward and District Council | Saint Paul, Minnesota
Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
Legal Aid
Legal support moves on short timelines. Here are a few organizations creating agile legal support for our neighbors at this time:
- Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota provides direct legal services and advocacy.
- The Immigrant Rapid Response Fund at Women’s Foundation of Minnesota helps move resources quickly when families need them most.
Spend and invest your money locally
Spending is a daily choice. Divest yourself from large corporations where possible. This is a strong moment to shift dollars toward local businesses, cooperatives, credit unions and community-rooted organizations. Local spending keeps jobs, food access, and decision-making close to home.
This work is not about being perfect or doing everything. It is about showing up, staying connected, and remembering that we have a history of cooperating here. We take care of us because that is how communities last.