Our Mission
Bridge the gap for individuals and families who are faced with the challenge of having enough nourishing food available to them.
Nearly 1 in 7 families in our community are “food insecure” ...meaning they are not sure they will have the ability to meet their food needs from one day to the next. Many times these families will have unexpected expenses come up which disrupts their monthly budgets and makes providing food to the family a major challenge. Mimi’s Pantry aims to be a temporary stop-gap for individuals and families in this type of predicament.
Mimi’s Pantry is a state of the art pantry. It offers a full range of food items needed to provide a nourishing, balanced meal. The pantry is stocked with boxed and canned goods, along with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and frozen meats.One of the unique features of Mimi’s Pantry is the library of books available for our clients to take home. Many times there isn’t enough money left in the budget to buy books for the family members. Research has proven that proficient reading skills are a major factor in a child’s success in school.
Inspiration
Lillian “Mimi” Curtin is the inspiration behind Mimi’s Pantry. She, along with her husband John, raised their family in the Northland. For many years she owned and operated a small cafe and was the manager of a local supermarket deli. She, like many women of her era, had to figure out how to make ends meet, especially when it came to feeding her family. Providing well-cooked balanced meals was important to her because she knew it was critical to her family’s well-being.
Mimi was always willing to give to others, even if it meant she would have to sacrifice something for herself. Never wanting anyone to go without a meal, she would often waive the bill due because she knew that person or family was struggling. She definitely displayed what we would call today a “Servant Mentality” and she instilled that mindset
in her children. One of her favorite sayings to her kids was, “Try never did anything.” You didn’t just try, you were expected to just do it. It is that same spirit we bring to
Mimi’s Pantry.
