Meeting the Moment
A Call for Optimism and Hope from Executive Director Gabe Zoerheide
Dear Friends,
As someone whose professional and personal life revolves around purpose-driven work, food, agriculture, and community health, the last few weeks have been challenging. With a shift in federal priorities, we have seen real impacts on our partners and the community. Peer non-profits have lost federal funds they thought were secure. Partner farms have seen delays in reimbursements for work already completed and face the prospect of essential programs scaled back or ceasing to exist. Coupled with rising inflation, the prospect of federal budget cuts to anti-poverty programs such as SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid are very concerning. While less than 10% of Willing Hands’ budget comes from federal grants and contracts, we are confronted with the possibility of replacing these funds in order to maintain our impact.
In this moment when many of us are reeling from the news, the most important thing for us to do is not lose hope or optimism. To do so would mean abandoning our essential work. Every crisis is a teacher. As much as I would rather avoid this lesson, we don’t have that privilege.
I hope this moment will allow us to come together and reaffirm our commitment to each other and a healthier community.
For Willing Hands this means redoubling our focus on recovering food and increasing what we provide to our neighbors. It means finding more ways for you, our community, to be involved and support our mission with your hours, resources, food, and passion. It means listening better to our neighbors’ needs, especially those who are being marginalized, and questioning our assumptions and biases so we can better serve. It means being creative, caring, and thoughtful as we work to support each other.
More than anything, the moment calls for us to not lose the hope that we can make a difference in nurturing a healthier, more sustainable community. My wish is that you will join me in this work and share with me your optimism and hope. We are stronger together.
Sincerely,
Gabe Zoerheide, Executive Director