Iskam Mǝk Mǝk-Haws Food Pantry

Iskam Mǝk Mǝk-Haws is a community food pantry in Grand Ronde created in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Marion Polk Food Share, serving a rural area with limited access to fresh food. The pantry, whose name means "house where you get food" in Chinuk Wawa, distributes nutritious, culturally relevant food including traditional "first foods" like salmon and elk, while serving as a community gathering place that also offers clothing swaps, diaper bank deliveries, and classes on traditional crops and food preservation techniques. Serving hundreds of families monthly, the pantry addresses a critical need in Grand Ronde, a food desert with predominantly convenience stores, and extends its reach through mobile pantry and home delivery services to residents facing transportation barriers.