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UMMA Harvest Market is our FREE grocery store that serves nearly 1,000 families every week with about 15 tons of fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, dairy products, and dry goods. For the most part, our constituents visit our facility to pick up food, but we provide FREE delivery to the elderly, disabled, and veterans.

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We are in the process of purchasing a multi-purpose property near downtown Waukegan that features 4 apartments and 2 commercial spaces. 3 of the units have 3 or more bedrooms, which is much needed in the area, as most larger low-income families are forced to cram into 1 or 2 Bedroom apartments. Stable and affordable housing is critical to all aspects of a family’s well-being as well as for the economic prosperity for the entire community. The demand in Waukegan for affordable housing is currently far greater than the supply, and the gap is growing each year. Affordable housing for local workers prevents homelessness and overcrowding.

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We plan to move the UMMA Harvest Market int the commercial space, which will almost double the space we currently have. Since the residential units will provide an income, and because we will own the building, we will save more than $10,000 per year in rent that we currently pay at our food pantry location. This will allow us to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on our donors.