Commissary is Very Necessary (CIVN) is a nonprofit environmental justice organization in Desoto, TX, provides resources for minority communities, grassroots organizations, schools and families from underserved communities with high incarceration rates. CIVN provides educational resources such as free grant writing workshops, environmental justice fairs, and after-school tutoring and mentoring to underserved communities. Additionally, CIVN promotes empowerment with their Community Engagement Specialist Holistic program that provides a sense of community and self-worth. Commissary is Very Necessary also provides resources such as back-to-school drives, job placement, feeding programs and health drives for the communities in need.
Commissary is Very Necessary hosted a food giveaway in the Dallas metropolitan area in January 2023. (Photo from CIVN Facebook page)
CIVN’s motto is every child has a plate and every child has a seat at the table. The organization also recognizes food insecurity among the elderly and has donated 2,000 pounds of food to the DeSoto Senior Living Center. CIVN also sponsors a Nature STEAM Learning Academy in partnership with Dallas College PREP that teaches Sustainability with Technology to local students. CIVN was a recipient of the Fort Worth Data Center’s 2023 Meta Data Center Community Action Grant, which provides funding for nonprofits and schools and their projects that help put the power of technology to use for community benefit, connect people online or off and improve STEM education. CIVN used its grant to support its Nature Smart Learning Academy after-school program in underserved communities to teach students basic gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics to support addressing food poverty.