The small pantry was moved to a 28,000 square foot facility and that was just the beginning. Over the last 37 years, the small pantry that was started to provide emergency food has shifted to an anti-hunger organization that transforms lives through food justice, but our roots have never changed. We serve those in need through an upstream, trauma-informed approach working towards a proactive food policy. A proactive food policy tackles injustice by understanding that the root cause of hunger is trauma. Educating ourselves on the effects ongoing adversity can have on individuals and families allows us to understand how we can help people heal and begin the process of building a cycle of healing within our community. 

The very people who CUMAC was formed to help are now partners in the journey to build a strong, vital community where everyone will have access to the resources they need to thrive. The CUMAC team invited the community to tell us their whole story and learned that choice is too often taken away in poverty and so we built our Choice Marketplace. Families are now invited to choose what food they desire to eat including fresh produce and lean meats. We are also helping the community connect with resources such as SNAP and Medicare through our Benefits Enrollment Center, but it goes far beyond choosing groceries and accessing benefits. Families are taking back their dignity, advocating for their needs, helping create a future where we all return to our roots of neighbors helping to lift up neighbors and transforming community through shared hope.