The Student Government Association (SGA) partnered with Tin Tea on Nov. 11 to raise money for the Northfield community affected by the freezing of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the government shutdown.
According to SGA President Fiona Mundy ’26, the idea was spurred on when Junior Class Representative Marea Nielsen ’27 was asked by a student what the student government was going to do to support those affected by the cuts to SNAP benefits.
“Since we’re a residential campus, we don’t have a lot of people who are off the meal plan, so we have a lot of students that are not reliant on SNAP benefits specifically,” Mundy said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “So, I hadn’t thought about it.”
At St. Olaf, 95% of students live on-campus with access to a meal plan. Because of this, Mundy decided to reach out to Tin Tea Owner Chau Truong ’24 to collaborate on a fundraiser for the Community Action Center (CAC), a nonprofit human resources organization home to the Northfield food shelf.
“Chau Truong has been fundamental to SGA,” SGA Vice President Karen Henriquez Fajardo ’26 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “Having her as a resource not only for SGA, but also for support of the community is a reflection of her hard work and her desire to be that person in the Northfield community.”
The fundraiser was a one-day event in partnership with Tin Tea, a local Vietnamese restaurant founded by Truong, where 10% of sales made would be donated to the CAC. Students were able to order online for delivery to campus courtesy of Henriquez Fajardo and Mundy or in-store. $380 was raised.
“We might do [the fundraiser] for multiple weeks depending on how tomorrow goes,” Mundy said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
Beyond the fundraiser with Tin Tea, SGA has other events set up throughout the month to support the local community. The Local Impact Committee will be doing a food drive throughout Northfield where donation boxes will be placed around campus, Carleton College, and other local businesses. On Nov. 12, SGA announced a collaboration with Bon Appetit that will allow for students to donate a meal swipe to the CAC until Nov. 21.
