They Were Robbed

Mi Tierra Foods is a neighborhood grocery at 2082 San Pablo Avenue and Addison, just a block from the busy junction of San Pablo and University in Berkeley. Yesterday, Berkeleyside reported that Jesus Mendez, while bringing cash back from the bank to support their check cashing counter, was robbed at gun point.

Apart from being the consummate local grocery with a combination of staples and fresh produce, Mi Tierra provides an important service for those who cannot access a bank. They help the poorest turn a check for a day’s work into food for their family. They help people who send money back to support their families in Mexico and South America.

Mi Tierra has now been forced to stop this service because of the cash lost in the robbery, but Mendez has vowed to reinstate the service once they have replenished the necessary cash reserves.

WE CAN HELP. Please consider joining me and making a point this weekend of going to Mi Tierra and buying some of your weekly groceries. For free parking turn on Addison and there is a car park. See the beautiful mural as you then walk to the store entrance.

Mi Tierra is there for us, whether we need that checking service, to pick up something we forgot at the bigger groceries, or need that special ingredient for a Mexican dish. They are the consummate neighbor, an integral part of Berkeley.

This weekend, be a good neighbor, and join me in supporting them by buying groceries there. Pass this blog on or tell your friends. Make sure you let the staff know why you came. Let them know Berkeley cares.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist (now available on Kindle) and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/

 

The owners