CIBOLA COUNTY Thank you Cibola County, you just donated 1,847 pounds of food to the Grants Community Pantry for needy families.
On Saturday, May 10, USPS drivers picked up the donated food items from area residents for their annual food drive. “Cibola County residents responded greatly to the USPS food drive,” said Alice Perez, executive director of The Community Pantry in Gallup of which the Grants Community Pantry is under. “Thank you, USPS, for hosting the drive and thank you to all those residents who gave an item or two, or three, or four and so on. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Know that all of the food will go to families in need.”
According to Perez, the donated food will be dispersed through several programs including emergency and regular monthly food boxes and homeless bags.
The Grants Pantry was founded in 2000 and began with two ice chests in the parking lot of a church. But the vision for the people in Grants and Cibola County was much bigger. Progress was made through the generosity of the people and a few written grants here and there.
The Grants Community Pantry resided in a 3,500 square foot building for about 15 years. “Though this building has served its purpose, the need was greater,” Perez explained. The capacity of this building only allowed for two services for the community members - the TEFAP and the Free Produce program. Other services such as the Homeless Program were also developed.
Through a grant written by the executive director and a partnership with the City of Grants, the larger vision for The Grants Community Pantry is becoming a reality. A building and property have been purchased, along with equipment and the largest cold storage in Cibola County. Distribution of food items began in the new building on April 29th, of this year. The additional programs will be developed to serve the community needs. “A community garden is in the planning stages and will be developed also, named The Grants Pantry Hope Garden,” Perez said.
“The Grants Pantry addresses food insecurity in our children, elderly, Veterans, the homeless, and all of our families in need. Here in Grants, we have three employees and rely heavily on our community volunteers. Without our community members stepping up and working with us to help our neighbors, we would not be able to do what we do for the community. Please consider joining us.”
“We create partnerships with many organizations including our schools, health organizations, and civic organizations. We are a community that is too small to not share our ideas, resources, and community wide energy. We are encouraging people to join us to help create a healthier community and a much better quality of life.”
The Grants Community Pantry is now located at 916 Sakelares Boulevard, next to New Mexico Gas Company. The Pantry Office is open Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Monthly boxes are provided Tuesday through Thursday, 9 am to 2 pm. For additional information, call 505-287-5090.