Mobile Pantry Programs

One of the things that has worked so well for Aid in Milan is that we often uncover other needs when families come for groceries- such as when there is a large medical bill that threatens to throw a family's already precarious financial situation into crisis, or if a few days of missed work due to an injury is causing them to miss rent. But if a person or family doesn't have access to these resources on a regular basis, and they are part of an already marginalized community- they are already lacking the support systems necessary to survive any sort of upset to their finances. This all adds up to a perfect storm of every time a crisis happens- of any size- historically marginalized people fall further and further behind. And generational poverty continues to deepen and expand to future generations.

If we could take the programs that are working in our zip code and make them available to people who don't have the resources to get to us- we could start closing those gaps. And we could do it without asking people who are already at a disadvantage to jump over ANOTHER hurdle to get help. We could come to them.

Food insecurity is one of the basic parts of poverty. And we've all seen the studies on the importance of nutrition on brain development, focus at work, and overall health. Since COVID hit, more and more people are reaching out to us because even though they are working, their paychecks are still not covering all their bills. And one of the first things to go is often- how much food, and the quality and nutritional value of the food.

Aid in Milan is piloting a few sites to test the Pop Up Pantry concept. So far, this has ended up being a more efficient and safer way to serve people. Children aren’t standing in the cold or walking into the store. And, the format for ordering maintains Aid in Milan’s commitment to restoring dignity. It takes the convenience of ordering groceries from Kroger (and all the convenience that comes with that concierge level of service) and makes it available to low-income, traditionally marginalized people.

We are looking to try a few different models to find the best way to service our community. If you think your community would benefit from a Pop Up Pantry, click on the link above and see if you qualify!