In collaboration with the Garrett County Health Department, Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc. (GCCA) has cut the ribbon to the 360 Access Hub at 360 West Liberty Street in Oakland.
The 360 Access Hub is a food pantry and resource hub in development by GCCA, Garrett County Health Department, and Maryland Physicians Care.
Those building and working the Hub believe that everyone deserves to eat well, with dignity, consistency, and care, especially in light of uncertainty of programs such as SNAP.
Over the last few months, Access Hub has been serving food by appointment, hosting the ribbon cutting to give the community a sneak peak of more services with more open access to come.
"This building has seen a lot of iterations, and this latest one is going to meet the needs of a lot of people in this community," said GCCA President Chris Mullet. "It's unbelievable how people have responded, and I can't tell you how gratifying that is."
Shelley Argabrite, Director of Population Health, Innovation and Informatics, and County Health Strategist and Accreditation Coordinator spoke next.
"It's been an outpouring of support, and it is very humbling to stand here and right now see that it is all of us in this collective way," said Argabrite. "We have a lot of room to grow, but we have the opportunity to do that now. I look around this room and I see a room full of hope, courage, generosity, and love. We are connected as human beings. We all need to eat, and we all deserve to eat well."
Argabrite encouraged listeners to continue to search for similarities in each other and not differences.
"That is the power of shared humanity," she said. "To bring life to a space that puts dignity first, and that honors every guest that walks through the door."
Details will be announced soon for how you can be served by the Hub, as well as how to give time or other resources. Learn more at https://360accesshub.com/
If you need support now, visit https://garrettcountyfood.com/ or call us at 301-334-9431.
Article courtesy of The Garrett County Republican. Staff Writer Claire Sullivan can be reached at 301-334-3963 or by email at csullivan@therepublicannews.com, and the Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc. Photo credit: Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc.
