By David | a guy who used to wear socks with stripes
So we’ve been packing and delivering food to thousands of Ukrainians and their Moldovan host families, every week, since February 24th. Until this month we brought our trucks to public places, usually playgrounds or parking lots, and were able to serve 500-750 families per day quite efficiently. Before it got cold and rainy, beginning this month we opened a modest food bank right downtown, very convenient for people to come from anywhere in the city to pick up their 20-pound bag of fruits, veggies, fresh bread, grains and legumes.
We also shifted part of our packing process to the city. We partnered with an organization that provides services to young adults with autism, and were able to recruit 4 of their beneficiaries to work part time. Some prefer weighing the fruits and veggies, others assembling all 8-9 components into a finished bag. They really appreciate getting their first job and next week will pick out their work boots, aprons and gloves.
The team also grew with the addition of an accountant, graphic designer and electrician/handyman, all of which we recruited from our pool of Ukrainian beneficiaries.
Outside the city we’ve been running from county to county with our mobile food truck. It’s cool, people enter, take a core bag of dried stuff and a warm multi-grain bread, then choose one of the fruit mixes and one of the veggie mixes. We think it’s important to provide opportunities to exercise control, like choosing what’s for dinner.
Once the weather gets too cold or dangerous for the rural deliveries, we’re getting ready to fix up a corner of our downtown warehouse to serve as a “zero waste” shop. Like when you go to Whole Foods and scoop grains out of a barrel, or fill a bag from a bulk dispenser. This way beneficiaries who come to the city for whatever reason can stop by, take what they want and how much, and if they use their own plastic boxes or jars (rather than our increasingly expensive biodegradable sacks), they’ll get some bonus, like extra fruit or a couple of organic honey energy bars (made by one of our food incubator partners). Anyway, classical behavioral nudges…
The last update I wanted to share is about “winterizing” the homes and bodies of our visitors from Ukraine. We started insulating the windows and doors and balconies of their apartments, because heating will cost more than double what it did last year. We also visited some local factories a few weeks ago and got samples of their winter boots and house slippers, all sizes and colors, for kids and adults, as well as socks, gloves and hats, and have started inviting beneficiaries to make a wishlist. We’re not in a financial position to give all 3,000 of our families everything they want, or need, but if you help us by sharing the link below, for another fundraiser, we can have a bigger impact.
Thank you again GlobalGiving, and all our individual donors, for supporting our outreach programs.
stay warm,
David
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