Making a difference: Gail Schmidt, Raihaana Ali, Claire Riccardi, Glenn Payne and Kurt Schmidt, were among those behind the opening of Nina’s Place.

By Rachel Galvin

A long line of people waited patiently on Saturday, Jan. 7 for the opening of Nina’s Place: A Free Community Market & Pantry.  The epitome of community helping community, this new endeavor allows people who are in need of sustenance, who may be down on their luck, to shop at no charge for items to add to their own cupboards. They also have a pantry for those who are unhoused.

Located at Zion Lutheran Church, 959 Southeast 6th Ave. in Deerfield Beach, the pantry and market are named for Nina McClelland, a longtime advocate for public health, a pioneer in drinking water and a leader in STEM and academia. Her aunt and uncle, the late Fern & Nick Mervos, were long-time members of the church, and in their memory, Nina made a significant bequest to Zion in her estate.

The opening of Nina’s included an early morning ribbon cutting with the president of the church council, Dr. Robin Larson, cutting the ribbon, and many of the people who helped to create the market and pantry were on hand, including members of the church and their partners from Deerfield Beach Community Cares, Flipany and others. 

They had expected about 50 families to show up but they realized they had almost 200. “I am concerned we do not have enough,” said Joel Smith, president & CEO of Deerfield Beach Community Cares. He was right. A mere two hours later, they were completely out of produce and many other products so he found himself making a grocery run to Walmart.

Besides produce, they had plenty of other types of canned products, pasta, baked goods, hygiene items, baby items like diapers and more. 

Because of limited supply, Smith said, they decided on operating on a point system. Everybody gets 20 points to use however they like. A can of tomato sauce might be one point and the pasta another, a potato might be one point but it is two for one, etc. 

Asked how this got started, Smith said, “The church has been incredibly gracious to Deerfield Beach Community Cares. Over time, they gave us an office. But in conversations, we realized you can’t change a person’s soul if they are hungry. If struggling to survive, those needs come first. Zion said, you know what, we have a room [to create a pantry].” From there, they worked with the church, the city and other organizations like Child Services Council of Broward County and Flipany to make the pantry and market a reality.

Dr. Robin Larson, president of the Zion Lutheran Church Council, and Joel Smith, founder & CEO of Deerfield Beach Community Cares, cut the ribbon to Nina’s Place.

They continue to look for partnerships and plan on getting food every week for those who register online and come in. They are looking for relationships right now with places like Publix and Costco.

Claire Riccardi, is the community ambassador for Nina’s Place. She has been working hard to secure those types of partnerships. “I go out to restaurants, markets, food locations, all establishments for all supplies that are needed whether its canned foods, supplies, local distributors.”

What they do bring in is high-quality but economical food. “They don’t have cheap stuff here. They have good quality products people can take home,” said City Manager Dave Santucci, who stopped by in the morning.

“This is a dream come true,” said Gail Schmidt, VP of the Zion Lutheran Church Council.

Shopping…

They plan on having some special events geared toward the homeless on the last Saturday of January, February and March. Not only will those who attend receive a backpack of hygiene and other supplies, but they hope to have clothing available, showers and other organizations on hand to help with much-needed services. This is still in the planning stages.

The hours for the pantry and marketplace are Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (subject to change). They also have a partnership with Door Dash to deliver to those who are unable to physically make it to the market.

More about Deerfield Beach Community Cares

Deerfield Beach Community Cares has some other events coming up, including an 8-week bike club for kids, including riding, going on field trips, like to BMX area, learning bike repair and safety, riding in an obstacle course and more. Kids get a free bike at the end. They also will have a free makeover for Valentines Day for the first 15 women who register online. See what else they are up to on their website, which is https://dfbcommunitycares.org.

To find out more about the pantry and market, including how you can register and how you can donate, visit https://ninasplacedfb.org. The pantry/ marketplace is located at 969 SE 6 Ave, Deerfield Beach.