For 17 years, the funky gift shop The Cosmic Depot, on NE Clay Avenue in Bend, has been quietly collecting and donating food to NeighborImpact once a week on Sundays during the summer months. To encourage public participation, the owner of The Cosmic Depot has partnered with esoteric practitioners who volunteer their time to provide free services in exchange for food donations. Those services include astrology, tarot card reading, art therapy, flower essences and more. The experience is called Sundays on the Green.
“The entire event is volunteer run, so we do have different people from week to week depending on their schedules,” says owner Christy Nickey. “You never know what services are offered until you come to Sundays on the Green.” In the early days, Nickey partnered with One Heart Ministry. She says she started doing it because she believes in community connection and spiritual health and well-being for all.
“We want to provide space for something beyond commerce to serve you. Our aim is to be an institution of curiosity, a place where enlightenment is encouraged and acceptance blooms,” she says. The Cosmic Depot opened in 1998. There is a variety of colorful merchandise for sale including crystals, beads, jewelry, incense, clothing and candles. On the store’s website, Nickey calls herself the Purveyor of Happiness/Merchandiser of Magic. She says the store itself has a heart, personality and a reason for being.
During Sundays on the Green, her goal is to gather mountains of food each week and says, over the years, the event has collected thousands of pounds of food for NeighborImpact. Nickey stresses that anyone can stop by on Sundays to donate food without participating in the services offered. But for those who are interested, the activities take place outside on the grass, under the trees.
“These are the kind of quality individuals who give their time so yours is better,” Nickey says about the practitioners. “I love them. They are my favorite kind of people… It is a wonderful way to spend time…with people who are giving theirs to benefit you and your neighbors. It is something special. We are honored to be a part of it and we know for a fact that it changes people’s lives for the better. They tell us year after year. And that is motivation enough for us.”
Sundays on the Green is operating two more Sundays before ending for the season.
Sundays on the Green
Sun., Aug. 24 & 31, 10am-2pm
The Cosmic Depot
342 NE Clay Ave., Bend
thecosmicdepot.com/
Canned Food Donations for NeighborImpact
This article appears in the Source August 21, 2025.
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