This post was originally published at The Cost of Living Project
The Little Bodega is a free grocery pop-up that models a new way of feeding families in need
In spring 2020, when the nonprofit We Love Buford Highway launched a program to give free groceries to families along the BuHi corridor, the source of the need was clear: the Covid-19 pandemic. Just as unemployment was spiking and supply chains were going haywire, families found themselves disconnected from usual sources of sustenance—kids who qualified for free or reduced lunches at school, for instance, couldn’t easily get them when schools were closed.
We Love BuHi partnered with other nonprofit organizations to deliver meals to some 17,000 families between April and July. The group—founded in 2015 with the mission of “preserving the multicultural identity” of Atlanta’s famous immigrant corridor—also devoted itself to other urgent pandemic responses, such as connecting communities with Covid testing and vaccines. Later in 2020, We Love BuHi launched a program called Feeding Families—a series of regular pop-up events where anybody who wanted to could swing by and get some food.
“We really made it a point to lessen the official feeling, the social-services feel, and we didn’t require IDs,” said Lily Pabian, We Love BuHi’s executive director. “As long as you’re in line, you’re showing us that you need.” Over the span of the pandemic, the organization connected more than 100,000 people with groceries.
Now, We Love BuHi is expanding this work with an initiative that models a new way for feeding families in need: the Little Bodega, a free store where people within the service area—primarily Brookhaven, Chamblee, and Norcross—can pick up groceries. Debuting in December, the Little Bodega is a pilot program that will run for a year and involve 15 families who’ve been invited to participate.
While Covid has eased, the need for food hasn’t. Food…
Read the full article here
