As food banks across Washington County tighten their budgets, Centro Cultural’s El Centro Mercado has officially opened its doors in a historic downtown Cornelius storefront where “people can access food with dignity.”

Elected officials and community leaders gathered Friday, May 9, to celebrate the grand opening of the Washington County nonprofit’s market-style free food pantry — an initiative rooted in efforts to feed folks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Centro previously partnered with the Oregon Food Bank to provide resources for families once a month, nonprofit member Rose Gallegos saw a growing need in the community in 2020 — and took things into the cultural organization’s hands with a pantry at “La Plaza” on the main Centro campus.

By the end of 2021, the organization broke ground on the new location inside a century-old space at 1216 E. Baseline St., giving one of the oldest buildings in the city a major facelift in a multiphase development.

To help revitalize the building’s degrading exterior — and open new doorways for modernization in Cornelius’ aging downtown — Centro received funding at the state and local levels. The organization was granted $199,121 in 2023 from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department through the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant, a state-funded effort to breathe new life into historic city centers. The city of Cornelius matched the award with $150,000 of its own.

The cash infusions targeted major updates to El Centro Mercado’s infrastructure, as well as new windows and an ADA-compliant entry.

“We have talked so much about this place over the past few years, and with high anticipation watching the changes happen, gradually operating out of the warehouse side of it for years until we were able to get the front storefront ready to go,” Maria Caballero Rubio, executive director of Centro Cultural, said. “We have successfully processed over 315 tons of goods this past year, and we have had over 1,100 volunteer hours. This place wouldn’t work without the volunteers that come on a daily basis to provide food and service to our community.”

The site facilitates over 600,000 pounds of fresh food to the community every year. In the front market, community members can find shelves stacked with grocery staples in varieties of fruits and vegetables, snacks, frozen foods, juice pouches and more.

“Anybody who walks in the door is welcome, and we do get folks from all over the county who come here and are able to take food that is culturally appropriate for them,” Caballero Rubio said.

The opening of El Centro Mercado comes at a time when local food resources are feeling the strain of federal cutbacks, with the Oregon Food Bank grappling with a major disruption after the Trump administration announced recent plans to halt millions of dollars in emergency food deliveries.

“It’s been tough because I’ve been hearing from people that they’re still struggling — struggling to put food on the table. Now is the time to make it easier for people to access what they need to feed their families,” U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici said. “So to celebrate this today is really critical, and I will be fighting against the defunding of food banks and the SNAP cuts all for tax breaks for those who don’t need them, people at the top. I subscribe to the theory that we all do better when we all do better, and everyone in this community deserves that. No one in our country should go hungry.”

The project also represents a cultural collaboration to nourish the community, developed in partnership with Latino-owned GSI Builders, Inc. and Salazar Architect. Per the city of Cornelius’ website, nearly 54% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.

“I’m really proud to say that this place was built by Latinos for Latinos, and that’s a big deal for us to be able to use the resources in our community to build this dream of a place — a hub for our community. And this is for all community,” Caballero Rubio said.

El Centro Mercado is open 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday; on Friday, hours are 9 a.m. to noon.