Peñasco, a small mountain town in northern New Mexico, sits along the High Road to Taos, a scenic byway in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Despite its small size, Peñasco offers a surprising amount to the area. The town enjoys a variety of restaurants and businesses that support locals and tourists alike.

MAS Comunidad, a local nonprofit supporting Peñasco and the surrounding communities, provides resources for those in need. Community members started the nonprofit in 1982 as an ambulance service at a time when there was no ambulance service for a 900 square acre service area.

“Since then, we have kind of been doing the same thing,” said Miguelanjel Ortiz, MAS Comunidad director. “We identify a need in the community, and we attempt to fill that need by either supporting or creating programs or services within the community.”

The nonprofit no longer offers ambulance services but serves as a community hub. MAS Comunidad assists the elderly population that faces a lot of transportation issues. The organization brings resources to the community to allow the town to offer the same services as everybody else. MAS Comunidad tries to get whatever resources the community needs.

“Just being able to bring resources here to this community is amazing,” said Sandra Renteria, a community health worker at MAS Comunidad. “We help with just about anything that you need. We don’t always have the answers, but we do a lot of asking around and research and we try to get whatever resources you need for you.”

Visitors can find MAS Comunidad by entering an area called “The S.P.O.T.” navigation office, which stands for strengthening, pride, optimism, and trust. “The S.P.O.T” houses a computer lab, senior arts program, food distribution hub, seed library, and more. Employees offer in person support for community needs as well. There is almost no aspect of the community that they don’t touch, including their support for small businesses.

By 2019, all the restaurants in Peñasco risked closure because they needed new kitchen hoods to comply with the fire code. Other businesses needed new, expensive equipment to maintain or expand their businesses and keep employing workers. MAS Comunidad stepped in to help when they applied for and received grant funds from USDA Rural Development Rural Business Development Grants over several years.

“Like the majority of New Mexico, small communities are dying out because the average commute time to an actual job is about 45 minutes,” said Ortiz. “So, by creating jobs within the community we are allowing our younger generations to stay within the community and actually afford to and have a career within the community.”

In 2020, 2022, and 2023, USDA Rural Development awarded MAS Comunidad Rural Business Development Grant funding that helped seven Peñasco businesses expand their services, hire more employees, and work more efficiently. Amanda Bissell, the current MAS Comunidad board treasurer and former grant writer, and Jennifer Ammann, the current MAS Comunidad grant writer, wrote the grants.

“We are serving our mission with this USDA grant by supporting these small businesses,” said Ortiz. “Essentially they are the lifeline to the community.”

The funding provided kitchen hoods with fire suppression for all the restaurants and provided some with refrigeration and food prep tables. A local tire shop received new equipment that allowed them to service newer tires, and a rancher received new equipment that will allow him to hire more employees and get his work done more efficiently.

The grant funds also helped provide refrigeration for High Road Market. The market is the only store within a 45 minute drive where residents can purchase fresh produce, and the refrigeration helped expand those offerings.

“They buy from local farmers, and we have quite a bit of local farmers here, so that allows them to sell their food in the market,” shared Ortiz. “Them being able to sell the produce for the community, or at least starting that process, it boosts everything, not just the business. It builds up a lot of the other things happening around.”

Doris Sandoval, community resource coordinator for MAS Comunidad, shared the businesses have thanked her for the help and she can see the benefits to the community.

“The USDA grants have increased business and helped increase employment,” said Sandoval. “I know a few of the businesses have been able to hire full time or part time. The hours of operation have increased. The customers have increased, and they have just been able to open and offer more on their menus.”

For more information about how USDA Rural Development might be able to help you or your business, visit the programs page. To learn more about MAS Comunidad visit its website.