The Power of Voices Lead to Neighbors Making Choices

Adjacent to a second-hand shop in a strip mall just off Pulaski Highway in Edgewood, Maryland Food Bank Network Partner Epicenter had a deliberate vision for providing resources to community residents in a more thoughtful way.

“It was early 2022, and with fresh memories of handing out pre-packaged foods during the pandemic, we reached out to our contact at the food bank, Rebecca Mann, to discuss creating a shopping experience for our neighbors who are really just going week to week right now. What you see here today, is a direct result of those conversations with Rebecca,” said Zach McClellan, director of development, Epicenter.

“We’re trying! I was raised to not ask for help, but we just can’t do it all alone anymore, so I had to. So thankful that people are nice here. No one makes you feel any sort of way, and they let you pick out your own food,” noted an Edgewood resident.

The choice pantry is an example of what McClellan described as a sticky space an area designed to have neighbors “stick around” and have conversations with Epicenter staff and other neighbors, which often leads to increased knowledge about the underlying reason (root cause) that drove that neighbor into food insecurity in the first place. Epicenter received $75,000 in funding from the Maryland Food Bank’s Neighbor Impact Grant program.

Demonstrating how important choice was to her, one Epicenter neighbor chose not to share her name, but made her feelings on the subject very clear.

Just four miles to the southeast, Celestial Manna is able to offer a choice pantry to Pasadena neighbors featuring culturally familiar and relevant produce—thanks to a grant from the Maryland Food Bank.

“We have local farmers that are starting to produce foods that are good for other cultures because not everyone eats the same thing. Now, we have things like two different eggplants, white ones from I think Southeast Asia, plus these small purple ones that are Indian, and we have okra, which is very popular with our population from India,” said Teresa, one of Celestial Manna’s volunteers.

While learning the specific reasons why an older couple from China chose the white eggplant were difficult due to a language challenges, pleased expressions and an earnestly uttered “Thanks, good food, helps very much,” were enough to show why this level of intentionality is so important to our neighbors.

And while some neighbors come to Celestial Manna for the familiar crops, others are finding healthy food choices in a comfortable environment. “I don’t know why it matters, but I’ll tell you I’m retired from the federal government, and that’s how I thought this place would be—you know, that government issue stuff—but it is not!” shared an older adult who asked to be called Anne.

“My doctor told me as I get older, I need to eat less meats and increase my vegetables, which I can choose from here. They treat me like a human being and let me pick out my own food, imagine that,” she continued.

“There is not enough work for me to afford the whole family’s food. This place doesn’t make me feel bad about it. The people are nice, and I can take food home that we like,” said a neighbor while choosing food at Celestial Manna.

This neighbor, courageous enough to share this sentiment while visiting a food pantry, illustrates why our deliberate approach to food assistance is so important to the ability of our neighbors to thrive.

All across the state, conversations between partners and the Maryland Food Bank’s Regional Program Directors are continuing to improve food distribution – bringing a much more dignified and rewarding experience—like Neighbor Choice Pantries—to our hungry Marylanders.