Program Updates

Casita de Comida offers customers a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, dairy, bread, and nonperishable pantry staples. Shoppers also have access to pick up personal care and hygiene products, diapers, and even children’s books generously donated from Global Give-A-Book.

Casita de Comida: Española’s New, No-Cost Choice Pantry

As of December 2022, The Food Depot officially launched Casita de Comida, a no-cost customer-choice food pantry, centrally in Española amongst Española Pathways Shelter, Bridge to Health NM, and Goodwill.

Casita de Comida’s mission is simple: provide access to nutritious food, and assist in connecting people to additional social services that improve both short and midterm food security. A central guiding principle to Casita de Comida is to enhance “customer choice.”

The program’s grocery shopping experience provides customers the opportunity to select the foods that are meaningful to them and ultimately reduce food waste.

The inspiration for Casita de Comida came years ago when The Food Depot wanted to increase food access and provide customers an optimal shopping experience through a no-cost grocery store model. We were excited to learn about Care and Share Food Bank’s Sunny Side Markets no-cost grocery stores in Southern Colorado. A team from The Food Depot had the opportunity to visit two Sunny Side Markets to learn about the markets' operation and design. The team learned so much and appreciated interacting with so many happy shoppers.

Casita de Comida is just getting started, and The Food Depot is thrilled to provide increased food access for the greater Española community, complementing the impactful work being done by our partner agencies in this area. Over the next year, The Food Depot will continue to expand hours of operation, gather feedback about customer satisfaction, expand offerings, and work with local groups and organizations to optimize the program.

Casita

de Comida's Impact

from December to February 2022: First 6 distributions

Open a total of 18 hours

Served

230 households