Community Market Embraces Hiring Homeless

Jon Murga is a Landmark Forum graduate and the owner of an indepenedent full service grocery store, Fresco Community Market, whose mission is to be both healthy and socially responsible. Murga and his wife have followed through on that mission, as evidenced by a recent Los Angeles Times story which tells how Murga has made it a point of hiring the homeless in his area. Over the last year, Murga has hired 12 homeless workers through a program at Los Angeles Mission.

Mission career center director Allen Ceravolo noted that very few businesses are open to hiring the homeless, due to their lack of work history and possible criminal records.

“[Murga] was unique because he initially wanted to work with and help the homeless,” Ceravolo said.

All of Murga’s employees from the Mission have been through a year long program to clean up their lives and be employable. Murga says that the employees hired through the Mission have been crucial to his business, and have been singled out for superior service by his customers. He says that businesses can really make a larger difference.

“It’s possible to change the conversation about the homeless situation,” he said

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1 comment

John says:

Very inspiring story and commitment.

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