“My name is Julie. I’m a mom and aspiring personal chef. I love my kids very much.”
Julie lives in Claremont with her children and works with the NHEP employment program, 30 hours a week. Her significant other works 80–100 hours a week. Even with two working households, balancing bills, childcare and groceries isn’t easy. “When you work and you have adequate income, you don’t get food stamps or free school lunch. After paying bills and taking care of necessities, there is not much left for groceries.”
A taxi driver first told Julie about the Haven’s Community Food Market. What she found was very different from what she expected. “Everything is properly refrigerated, categorized, and so clean. The building itself is inviting… there’s dignity in going there that you don’t get other places.”
For Julie, shopping at the Haven feels less like charity and more like possibility. “Every time I go in there, I feel like I’m on the TV show Chopped. You never know what ingredients I’m going to get, but this basket is going to be on Instagram soon.” One week, her “mystery basket” included prosciutto, basil, plum tomatoes, garlic, and Italian bread, which she used for bruschetta. She added $3 of mozzarella from the store and created a dish “you’d pay $18 for as an appetizer.”
Julie’s passion for food runs deep. During the pandemic, she cared for neighbors’ children and discovered how much joy she found in cooking together. She also helped her grandmother lose over 100 pounds by preparing balanced meals. “Nothing brings people together like food,” she says.
Julie also shares her love of food beyond her own kitchen. Online, she posts as Evolving Kitchen and helps moderate New Hampshire Eats, a Facebook group with more than 170,000 members celebrating local restaurants and home cooking. She is also connected with Nourish New England, a new nonprofit teaching young people about food and culture. Through both, she shows that a good meal does not need to be expensive or complicated. Sometimes it starts with what you bring home from the Haven.
But more than recipes, Julie wants people to understand that the Food Market is there for everyone. “People need help right now… These are your neighbors, people in your community — the hairdresser, the teacher, the person who sold you your house. They’re making impossible choices between basic needs.”
For her family, the Haven provides breathing room. It eases the pressure of rising costs and allows them to focus on what matters most: time together. “I think the Haven revitalizes communities, and that’s what I’m all about. So I’m so happy I was introduced.”
