Madrid Grocer Nets Cold Grant

The refrigerated storage area at Madrid’s The Village Greengrocer has been upgraded, thanks to a nearly $3,000 grant from the Regional Development Corporation.

The grant was among the 57 micro-grants amounting to $154,754 that the corporation awarded within the northern New Mexico region, including, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Taos, Mora, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties.

The Village Greengrocer, however, was the only East Mountain business to receive a grant.

“The RDC micro grant has supported us to grow in the ways that will best support our community,” said Kate Finio, who co-owns the business with Stella Linder Byrne.

The small, local-foods store has a mission of supporting food access and strengthening the local food system by connecting local farmers and their produce with consumers.

The $2,800 grant “went toward expanding customer-facing cold storage in our retail space through new equipment,” Finio said.

Businesses were awarded from $500 to $3,000. The corporation’s Micro-Grant Fund provides an infusion of capital in hopes of helping businesses diversify, sustain/grow revenue, leverage other investments and put systems in place that lead to growth and create job opportunities.

Eligible applicants had to be a for-profit business of any type, must be located in one of the seven counties the corporation covers, must be a licensed business and had to be an operating business for at least six months from when the application was first opened. 

The grants were awarded to the businesses through a competitive process with the aim of helping each grow and lead to new opportunities that may not have been otherwise possible.