Taking the convenience store concept to a whole new level, the Desert Food Mart provides a little bit of everything. Part gas station, part store, part café and part coffee shop, Desert Food Mart is a local institution for Benton City, Washington.

“While we’ve been pretty fortunate during the pandemic, others haven’t,” says owner Vicki Smith. “We see so many of our customers struggle during this terrible tragedy.”

Coming to a customer’s need is exactly what Smith is doing now. In partnership with Columbia Bank’s Pass it On Project, “We are passing it on to a friend and customer who lost her food truck to a fire,” says Smith. “With Columbia Bank helping to pay the bill, we are going to do everything we can to help her get back on her feet and serving meals again.”