GRANTS, N.M. – The Grants Community Pantry officially opened the doors to its new facility this week, marking a fresh chapter for a regional lifeline that, not long ago, teetered near bankruptcy. Director Alice Perez—credited by board members with pulling the pantry back from the brink—stood alongside partners, donors, and volunteers as the Chamber of Commerce led a ribbon cutting and a pastor offered a blessing rooted in the celebration carried the weight of two decades of community work.
Pastor Reuben Thomas, one of the early champions of bringing a pantry presence to Grants, traced the origin story back to 2003.
He recalled waiting for produce to be dropped-off from the Roadrunner Food Bank in a church parking lot, a donated laundromat on Stephens Avenue refitted into a pantry with volunteer sweat, and the first walk-in freezer hauled in from Gallup. “It started as a community effort and has stayed a community effort,” Thomas said before offering a prayer for the pantry’s next chapter.
Perez detailed how that next chapter came together.
After she took the helm in 2015, she spent her first year learning the operation, then began searching for a long-term home. A state grant opportunity emerged, but it required a public fiscal agent. The City of Grants stepped up, and— after four years of paperwork and persistence—the pantry secured $1.8 million in state funding to develop the new site. Perez also thanked key donors and partners, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which contributed $165,000 toward the facility, and organizations that helped with fencing and site work.
Perez explained the importance of the pantry to Cibola County.
In 2024, the pantry’s commodity program served 10,734 households countywide, officials said. Through mid-2025, the pantry has already supported 4,281 households with commodities, distributed about 96,000 pounds of fresh produce, and delivered roughly 48,000 meals via state initiatives.
Inside, the layout reflects both growth and intent. The building houses dedicated offices for pantry operations, five additional offices and a small conference room available for rent to community-minded tenants (utilities and internet included), and clearly separated warehouse and public areas designed for efficiency and safety. Rental rates are being finalized, but Perez said the goal is to keep them affordable.
Outside, the campus opens an ambitious pathway to food security. The field outside the pantry building will be used as a community garden.
The pantry plans to use the five-acre property after fencing is completed, to create a community garden. There will be up to 75 community garden boxes and a hoop house to extend the growing season. Unlike a small, heat-tight greenhouse, the hoop house will give residents a practical, shoulder-season space to grow. When people grow their own food, they gain not only produce, but “physical, mental, and emotional” benefits, Perez said. The pantry—already a designated weekday farmers market—has seen the model work in Gallup. Families can keep what they grow, donate it, or even sell surplus at the farmer’s market.
“Give someone a garden box, water, education, and the means to use it,” Perez said on a tour, “and they can feed their family for an entire season.”
The Grants–Cibola County Chamber of Commerce helped lead the celebration. “This pantry represents so much more than a building—it represents compassion, generosity, and neighbors looking out for one another,” said board member Rosie Morales before the ceremonial snip. Afterward, guests were invited for refreshments and tours.
“We’re excited to be here,” Perez said. “And we’re excited to expand.”