New Latino focused food pantry opens in Cornelius

CORNELIUS Ore. (KPTV) -Centro Cultural of Washington County celebrated the official grand opening of a new food pantry on Friday.

Located at 1216 Southeast Baseline Street, Centro Mercado is designed to look like a grocery store, but shoppers get to take what they need for free.

“As someone who grew up in Cornelius, I’m feeling so much pride and so much joy,” said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Chief Strategy Officer for Centro Cultural.

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Everyone is welcome, but Centro Mercado was specifically built for Latinos, by Latinos. The team even works with local farms to source produce that families might see in Latin America.

Maria Rubio, Executive Director of Centro Cultural, said having access to culturally specific foods can make all the difference for Latino families.

“People were bringing back food and leaving it at our door because they didn’t know how to use it. It wasn’t familiar to them,” Rubio said. “So, through the years, we’ve been able to acquire culturally specific food that people can and people will use.”

To help get the food pantry started, Centro Cultural received a federal grant three years ago and said it will need to reapply in the next six months. With many grants on hold right now, Centro Mercado said it’s worried about how politics could impact its services. Oregon representative Suzanne Bonamici attended Friday’s grand opening and said taking funding away from programs like Centro Cultural is unacceptable.

“I subscribe to the notion that we all do better when we all do better, and again, in the United States, no one should go hungry,” Bonamici said.

Centro Mercado was designed to give its community members a dignified food pantry experience. Anyone is welcome to come in and take what they need, with no requirements and no appointments needed.

“Centro is a place where everyone belongs, and if you need help, whether it’s food or whether it’s dining, an opportunity in your life, we are here for you, Gonzalez said.

The pantry is run by nearly 300 volunteers, helping to keep the shelves stocked and the doors open. To learn more about volunteering, click here.

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