You may wonder…why is a Children’s Museum running a food pantry? Because children can’t play if their caregivers can’t afford groceries.

We started the Food Pantry @CMEE during the pandemic, little did we know, that three years later CMEE would become an essential lifeline to the more than 15,000 people served since its inception.

Our food pantry is special and here’s why:

• We are one of a handful of children’s museums in the nation to host a food pantry.
• The food pantry @ CMEE is 100% volunteer run, kids as young as three or four can be seen helping count potatoes or sort rice, lentils, beans, and pasta.
• To ensure families have the know-how to cook produce that might be new to them, CMEE hosts visiting farmers and chefs to cook alongside patrons.
• When families come to “shop” the food pantry, children are always encouraged to take a free book or stay and play for a while with our Educators.