Rochester Mutual Aid Network

02/04/2026

Everyone go support this great fundraiser for RRRN and Mary's Place Refuge Outreach from Tiny Fish Printing!
https://tinyfishprinting.itemorder.com/shop/home/

12/12/2025

12/02/2025

It's Roc the Day! If you're able to join in Giving Tuesday, RMAN could use the support. As a 100% volunteer run organization, every dollar we receive goes right back out the door to our community. Groceries, diapers, cleaning and hygiene products, bus passes, kitchen supplies and occasionally local crisis support. Every little bit helps keep our neighbors taken care of!

https://www.unitedwayrocflx.org/roc-the-day/causes/rman

11/22/2025

Thursday evening, RMAN members voted to spend $2,750 on emergency crisis support within our local community.

Sometimes, we’re called to act quickly and having an engaged network of volunteers helps us do just that.

This emergency action put a significant dent in our bank account.

The money is spent, and our community is safer because of it - but we’re asking you to help us recoup some funds!

Every dollar you donate is a dollar that RMAN can spend providing food, essential household items, pet supplies, and occasionally, crisis support.

Your donations support our daily work, as well as our one-off efforts, like the free grocery pop-up and our annual heated blanket skillshare.

Truly, every dollar makes an impact.

Will you consider donating $28 to RMAN today?

If just 100 of our friends, followers and neighbors donate $28, we will recoup what we spent this week on crisis response.

rman.link/crisis-fund

Do you consistently have the ability to meet your own needs?

Consider becoming a monthly donor! Our recurring donations help us budget and strategize more effectively throughout the year.

rocmutualaid.com/donate

11/19/2025

🚨🚨🚨

Please see Key Corrections below;

→ To address food insecurity and struggles families are facing from the government shutdown and overall high cost of food, the City of Rochester Public Market will distribute New York State FreshConnect Emergency Checks for SNAP Recipients and Other Food-Insecure Community Members. (These are NOT wooden tokens.)

→ Distribution will begin on Saturday, November 22 at the Public Market, 280 N. Union Street, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (NOT from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

→ These special emergency FreshConnect checks will be distributed on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., beginning November 22, and every Saturday until December 27– or until all supplies are distributed.

→ Families can receive $20 in FreshConnect checks for each family member present, each week. FreshConnect checks will not be distributed for family members who are not present at the distribution sites.

→ The FreshConnect checks can only be used at the City of Rochester Public Market during regular shopping days (Tuesday and Thursday 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Saturday 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.). They expire December 31.

→ There will be TWO FreshConnect distribution locations on Saturdays at the Market-- [1] the white Token Booth for current SNAP recipients, and [2] a special tent in the Market's D-Shed for non-SNAP recipients. (NOT the Token Booth for all.)

11/18/2025

Some community provided food for folks and their furry friends this month!

11/11/2025

Our DIY heated blanket skillshare is almost here! Join us this Saturday 11/15 from 4pm - 8pm at Tru Yoga to hang out and build some blankets together for our neighbors who need them. We'll have all the gear needed to build them and you don't need any experience to come build with us! And if you happen to have an extra pair of scissors, thread/needle or a sewing machine, feel free to bring them! We're always a little short on those when we run this skillshare
Check out this link for more information, or to donate if you can: https://rman.link/blankies
And check out this video demonstrating the build process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0QN9x067mU
ALSO! Be sure to check out the next Outreach Training Day with our friends in Rochester Grants Pass Resistance and the Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester. It's the next day, Sunday 11/16! Learn how to do direct street outreach, and distribute some of the blankets we made the night before!
Check out this link for more information and to register: https://bit.ly/RGPRNovemberOutreach
See you this weekend!

11/04/2025

Our first ever grocery pop up was a success! Thanks to our friends at RAW for coming out with us, Food Not Bombs and Flower City Pickers for helping organize, thanks to all of the RMAN volunteers who put in the tremendous amount of leg work to get all the supplies, thank you to everyone who emailed and reached out about dropping donations off to us, and thank you to all of you who contributed to the fund to support this pop up!

We were able to help a ton of our neighbors at this pop up, but it's very clear that this was just a drop in the bucket when it comes to fulfilling the needs of our neighbors. It's times like these that remind us that the work of mutual aid goes beyond meeting the immediate needs of our neighbors, and should also focus on longer-term strategies to allow our communities greater productive capacity of their own. Local food production and preservaiton, community ownership of housing, worker owned businesses. All of these things increase the self-determination of our community, and build better outcomes for all of us.

SNAP benefits being haulted has been hugely distruptive and damaging to our community. We should be using this time to reflect on how we can change our local conditions to better support ourselves and make our communities more resilient and robust!

In the meantime, please continue to support local mutual aid organizations, and check in with your neighbors!

10/27/2025

Free grocery pop up this Saturday November 1st 2025!

In response to SNAP benefits being suspended, we'll be popping up at St Joseph's Park on the corner of N Clinton Ave and Pleasant St from 3pm - 6pm on 11/1. Bring a friend, and some bags/boxes to take groceries away in!

Check out the slides and https://rman.link/snap for more info, and to make a donation if you're able!

10/22/2025

Come help make some blankets!

📣 Big news! 📣

We’re hosting another heated blanket skill-share on November 15th from 4 pm–8 pm! Join Rochester Mutual Aid Network, , and Roc Food Not Bombs at Tru and learn how to build USB-rechargeable blankets for our unhoused neighbors.

Here’s how you can help:

♨️ Donate fleece blankets, fleece fabric, or no-sew fleece blanket kits (drop off at Tru during regular studio hours)

💰 Donate money — funds will go toward supplies for the build event

🫂 Show up on 11/15 and help us build blankets and community

Our unhoused community members face systemic barriers every day: this is our chance to step in with compassion and direct support. Go to rman.link/blankies to donate or get more info.

07/23/2025

Join Roc Food Not Bombs and 490 Farmers for a general information meeting to learn more about how they help our community and what you can do to get involved!

06/25/2025