Support Meadowbridge Community Market
A free grocery and supply store in Richmond, VA!
Organized by Mutual Aid Distribution Richmond
Story
Campaign Update
4 months ago
Hello wonderful sustainers of the Meadowbridge Community Market! It’s been about a year since our last update, and the free store is still going strong! Since we opened in April 2023, we have served 200 families per week on average and have distributed over 350,000 pounds of food. We are excited to announce the next phase of growth for the MCM: we are fundraising to buy the building!
As supporters of the free store, you know that Meadowbridge Community Market helps to fill an important gap by offering an accessible shopping experience that encourages community members to take what they need, leave what they don’t, and bring what they can offer to others. Whether you’re a one-time contributor or monthly sustainer, we could not have made it this far without you.
MADRVA currently leases the MCM building, but we want to make a stronger investment in this mutual aid project. In order to secure the future of Meadowbridge Community Market and ensure that we are able to continue and grow our efforts, we are raising funds to purchase the building. Taking ownership of the building will help the Meadowbridge Community Market stay in Northside and serve as a community space for other mutual aid and community organizations.
Our fundraising goal is $90,000, which will cover the down payment and closing costs for the sale of the building. If you’d like to learn more about the fundraising effort and contribute, you can do so at givebutter.com/buymcm.
Please note: Your monthly sustaining efforts are still very much appreciated and needed here, as we are able to run the store off of the amount we receive from this campaign. We are so grateful for everyone who has helped in making our work a reality. We know that community is all we have! Love and solidarity forever, MADRVA 💖
Campaign Update
over 1 year ago
Hello lovely, beautiful supporters! It has been awhile since we posted an update on here and we want to make sure everyone knows that we are still going strong! Meadowbridge Community Market has been open for 6 months now✨😱
We are in awe every week of the hours our volunteers put in, the donations we receive from our community, and the relationships we get to build with everyone who visits the free store. Each Saturday we see 150 shoppers on average getting food and supplies for their families. By the afternoon, we typically have already run out of many items that folks need the most. We simply can't keep up! But we are determined to do what we can with the support we have.
Meadowbridge Community Market is funded through monthly sustainers on this Givebutter page. We currently have $6,479 in monthly recurring donations. Our first goal is to reach $10,000 in monthly recurring donations and we are so close!
Funds go directly towards stocking our shelves and keeping the lights on (we had a power bill of over $900 this past summer!!). Can you help us get more monthly sustainers? Please continue to share about the free store with your friends and networks and encourage folks to support us!
Much much love to everyone who has been with us on this journey 💖
Campaign Update
almost 2 years ago
Meadowbridge Community Market has been open successfully for one month! We've seen nearly 1000 community members come through our doors. The need in our community is high. We've spent $3,000-$4,000 on average to stock the store for each day we've been open - that is a total spending of over $20,000 since we have opened our doors. We have the capability to do so much more with community support!
We have learned a lot of lessons, had some amazing moments, and have had to reckon with a lot of difficult realities; the truth is that institutions and structures of power have failed people. We live in a world where the story is that in order to have access to the things that we all need, you need to be “deserving” or “qualified” for them; we’re trying our hardest to change that narrative to one that tells a different story. One that says “take what you need, leave what you can, there is enough for all of us." When we say mutual aid will take care of everyone, we mean it!
Meadowbridge Community Market is funded through monthly sustainers on this Givebutter page. We currently have $4,550 in monthly recurring donations. Our first goal is to reach $10,000 in monthly recurring donations and we are almost halfway there!
We need your help with fundraising and getting the word out! Please continue to share about the free store with your friends and networks and encourage folks to become a monthly sustainer if they can!
Campaign Update
almost 2 years ago
We did it!! We opened a free store!! Wow, it still doesn't feel real. There has been so much hard work and love that has gone into this. We started distributing supplies in a garage if you didn't know! To come all this way is absolutely magical and we are so thankful to you all ✨
Our grand opening was April 15th and over the course of six hours we saw over 100 people come in to get the goods they needed. The shelves were fully stocked up at the start of the day and then completely empty once we closed. It just shows us how much Meadowbridge Community Market is needed.
As you probably know - shopping for items at grocery stores is super expensive! Right now we are at $2,400 in monthly sustainers. It costs about $3K to pay for the building bills and then another $8K to purchase inventory monthly. Our goal is still to reach $10,000 in monthly sustainers and we've got a long way to go!
Please help us out by sharing our work with others and encouraging them to become a sustainer. It means a lot to have you all on this journey with us 💖
Campaign Update
about 2 years ago
Happy March everyone! Here are some updates on the free store 🖤
We've reached $2,283 in monthly recurring donations from 99 sustainers! Still a ways to go to reach our goal of $10,000 so please keep spreading the word. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with us! We're working hard but wouldn't be able to do this without the community's help.
We plan to have our grand opening very soon! There is one final approval we need from the city first and then we can announce our open hours for Meadowbridge Community Market. We hope to open in April, check back with us soon!
In the meantime, we started to accept material donations at the free store building to get the shelves stocked for opening. All of the info about donating can be found on our website: bit.ly/madrva. You'll see the list of items we're currently accepting and the details of when you can drop-off. As always, shoot us an email with any questions!
In solidarity, MAD RVA
Campaign Update
about 2 years ago
We've made some awesome progress at Meadowbridge Community Market recently and have hit $1,000 in recurring monthly funds from 44 sustainers!! Plus an additional $2,000 in one-time donations. Thanks a bunch to all who have supported us so far, your contribution and trust is making this dream a reality!
We’re still pretty far from our goal of $10,000 per month in recurring donations to cover all base expenses of keeping the free store running and stocked full of goodies for all. Please consider sharing this fundraising page widely and telling folks in your circle about our work!
