People of Progress

Food pantry and community resource center- People of Progress pop was created in order to tackle the institutionalization of poverty thus, it recognizes that hunger and food insecurity are symptoms of the overall precarious nature of poverty. The pop food pantry provides up to 60 days' worth of food per individual per year, and also supplies hygiene products, baby formula, baby food, and dog and cat food for family pets and companions. The thrift shop provides low-cost and free clothing, depending on the individuals need. Truly unique to the pop approach is the community resource center, which serves as a hub to connect individuals to resources. Pop caseworkers and supporters understand that a person facing an immediate crisis must have her basic needs met first and foremost however, in addition to that, individuals who utilize the community resource center are connected to services that either provide or teach skills to decrease and/or avoid future crises. Finally, the foodbank leverages the pop community garden project by asking participants to contribute some of their produce to the emergency food pantry therefore, fresh produce is available to individuals facing food insecurity. Accessing these multiple services is not burdensome on pop clients, and instead has been designed to take individual needs and variance into account.