Our Mercadito
The Mano en Mano food pantry officially has a name!
Photo from a Día de Mercado (Market Day) this January.
Last year with the support of Good Shepard Food Bank, Mano en Mano opened a culturally relevant food pantry out of our Milbridge Office. The purpose of the pantry is to provide continual and reliable access to food, especially culturally relevant foods that are difficult to find at local grocery stores.
After a brainstorming and voting process, community members selected the name “Our Mercadito” (Our Little Market) for the pantry.
While Our Mercadito is small, it has already made a big impact on the Downeast community! In its first year, Our Mercadito distributed more than 105,113 pounds of food (about 126,136 meals), directly serving an estimated 5,802 people.
This month we will also be able to provide access to refrigerated items, thanks to a capacity building grant from the Good Shepherd Food Pantry. This will expand the foods offered at the pantry to include refrigerated items such as milk, cheese, and more!
Our Mercadito holds Días de Mercado (Market Days) every second and fourth Friday of the month. On Días de Mercado (Market Days) the pantry will have additional items including: fresh produce, meat, and other specialty items starting at 2pm until 6pm. The next Market Day will be this Friday, March 10th.
If you want to donate to learn more about the food pantry, please contact Laura Thomas at: lthomas@manomaine.org
