This interview with our Food Bank team is the final post in a series introducing FamilyWorks’ new Mission, Vision, and Values. Click here to view a collection of published posts in this series featuring interviews with FamilyWorks staff and board.
What are your roles and how did you get involved with FamilyWorks?
James: Let’s see. Well, I am a Food Bank Coordinator. I was working in a totally different field and decided I wanted to come back to community service. So I started applying to different food banks, and, I interviewed at the University [Food Bank], and I interviewed, at Greenwood [Food Bank], and the person from the University Food Bank recommended me to Ava, who was the manager here. And they were looking for somebody. And, I got to interview with her and, went well, and that’s how I got involved with FamilyWorks.
Pete: I’m Pete, Food Bank Coordinator for eight years now. Prior to working here, I had a couple of years as a volunteer here as well, while also working in another field that, I think, had basically run its course. So, like, getting involved here came at a pretty good time for me, as well. And, eventually led to being employed here.
Kelly: I am a Food Access Coordinator. I became involved with FamilyWorks when my last food bank job ended, a few months before I joined here via AmeriCorps, and then eventually was hired on.
Jessie: I am a Mobile Food Pantry Coordinator, and I got involved with FamilyWorks through an AmeriCorps position, the AmeriCorps Food Access Coordinator. I was doing that, for I think it was seven months, and then was brought on as Mobile Food Pantry Coordinator.
Diana: I’m a Mobile Food Pantry Coordinator. I got involved, I mean, just through a search online. I started as a volunteer and then I really liked the place. I was curious about the food truck outside, and after a couple of months volunteering, there was an opening for a Mobile Food Pantry Coordinator. and I applied and I started working in November.
Jessie: We were like, “We need her!”
What does innovation mean to you personally?
James: For me, it means trying to just keep changing to improve. How do we best serve our participants, whether they’re coming in or we’re just trying to get resources out to them? Just like when we went through the pandemic stuff, how we had to adjust and readjust and so forth.
Pete: I just noted that I thought innovation means being creative and flexible, flexible to respond to circumstances and creative enough to maybe get ahead of them as much as possible. But also, trying to use creativity and innovation, I suppose, to try to bridge any barriers, whether it be, you know, travel or communication with translation. I think these are things that we’re trying to trying to improve.
Kelly: I think for me, it’s evaluating where we’re at and where it is that we want to go and adapting through conversations with each other, through the needs that we notice within our community, and just very specifically making our trajectory for the better of those things.
Jessie: I would say innovation means testing out new things to make systems more efficient or work better for people. So, kind of a willingness to learn and grow and try new things, in order to increase access or work towards justice.
Diana: Yeah. I think innovation for me is kind of like thinking outside of the box or just looking at things from a different perspective than has been looked at for a long time. So in that way, you can be more efficient or create or use a different path that haven’t been created before because the same problem hasn’t been looked at a different way. So yeah, you can create different formulas, different paths, how to be more efficient or change the values. Again, I think it’s just thinking outside of what is being said.
How has FamilyWorks embodied the value of innovation in your time here?
Pete: Kind of going off of what James said, responding to Covid, it seemed like we were changing things monthly, weekly almost. But also, even after that, with the expansion of the Home Delivery Program, Online Grocery Market. I think we’re trying to find a way to be more mobile, more portable, find a way to bring FamilyWorks to people rather than relying on them to find their way to us.
James: And like, we’re trying to increase our reach. You know, even though we’re not going to keep adding staff, we’re going to keep trying to increase our reach to the community.
Kelly: I think that we embody innovation by listening to the voices within our community and moving our work in the direction of that and also our continuous meetings and the consistency with listening to each other and bringing all of what we’re hearing to the table collectively.
Jessie: I was actually just talking to some friends last night, and I realized over the last ten years, I’ve had ten jobs, and FamilyWorks is probably the one organization I’ve worked for that does embody this the most. I’ve never seen in an organization so much growth and the commitment to trying new things and always doing things better. I feel like there’s always conversations about how to make things better here. And, we’re always open to, like, talking about growth and new opportunities, and, just as an example, the restructuring of the mission and values is another big step of that.
Diana: I think I’ve said this before, but I found out really quickly after I joined the team that this is a constantly moving organization, and that was very refreshing to hear. So I think that’s also one of the ways that FamilyWorks is showing innovation, just like Jessie said, constantly having a conversation of “how can we do things better?” and connecting that part of looking at things differently for a problem that has existed for a really long time in society. But just how can we tackle that in different ways? And just trying different things. If they don’t work, we learn from them and just keep moving to reach whatever goal that we set at that moment.
How have you seen innovation in action at FamilyWorks?
Kelly: Think that the Online Market is a big one, just because, from what I understand, FamilyWorks was hearing a lot of participants wishing that they had more choice, particularly in the kind of off-site programs. And then also, with our Community Connectors, I see them actively and consistency looking for more resources that they can provide to the community just based on what needs are being requested of them.
Pete: Yes, more like, sort of the whole organization approach rather than, you know, from the food bank perspective, stopping with, “Okay, I’ve delivered food, that’s enough.” But I think, what we’re starting to offer is, especially for our families, just trying to make it a more complete visit, I suppose, for a family or interaction or whatever that may look like.
James: Yeah. Part of our like mission statement with empowerment and stuff, I really like that people have not only come to the food bank but have also been helped in other areas, you know, like finding a place or something like that. That’s really uplifting to hear stories like that.
Diana: I will say, I think for me, my point of view maybe is our Online Grocery Market. And that sense of just giving one more option to be able to shop and have more autonomy and, you know, there’s the whole taboo around food banks. I think the Online Grocery Market just helps like create like a separation from that taboo of coming to the food bank and still getting access to the food that you need through online. And like being, you know, everybody can use the technology and just shop online. I think just adding your groceries to that, it was pretty innovative for me to see. I think that’s the biggest one.
Jessie: That is definitely a great example in my mind too. And kind of on a separate note I would say, though we haven’t actually created the Participant Advisory Committee yet, I think just like the conversations about that is a really big step. And I think that is very innovative and I think the, the commitment to like, adding more participant voice into our programing is a really big one.
How do you hope that the value of innovation will impact the future of FamilyWorks?
Kelly: I just hope that our participants and our community members feel recognized and heard and continue to utilize our services in whatever way that they need to. I just hope that we can continue to grow for our community.
Pete: Yeah, maybe it looks like we, you know, maybe we end up growing or developing new partnerships with people, whether that’s with other organizations that can help our work or whether we develop closer communications and relationships with participants as well. Rather than saying, “okay, we can take care of this item for you. Now, you gotta go here.” I just feel like there might be a chance for follow through with individuals and families.
James: Yeah, I agree with Pete. Partnerships, making strong partnerships throughout the community that can help with other types of resources.
Diana: I think it’s all connected, kind of like what we said. Just like, make sure that we are meeting people where they’re at and we can adapt to, like, yeah, not everyone is the same. So how can we adapt to everybody’s needs? And in a very efficient and kind of direct way. Just giving everybody a voice, which I think is really connected to a what Jessie said [in her last answer].
Jesse: Yeah. I think the goal for me in terms of what we’re using our innovative skills to work towards would be just having like more, more voice and more leadership from members of the community.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about innovation at FamilyWorks?
Pete: I think, just the idea that we’re talking about innovation is kind of cool. And just the idea that, well, I get the impression that innovations means no ideas are off the table. They may not work out, but we’re going to explore what will work. hopefully abandoned what doesn’t and improve that way.
Diana: Yeah, I don’t know, this might be a little more personal in that sense, but, yeah, working at FamilyWorks and, now that you put that innovation word into it, that kind of like, connects a lot of things for it. And in a world that I’m kind of like constantly looking for hope because there’s so much else, like going on and so many bad things going on.
I like the hope that FamilyWorks gives, not only to the participants, but also, I think the people that work here, that we can keep thinking outside of the box and just like making small differences in the community that we see every day in that area that we can control. So again, for me, I only want to speak for myself, but it just gives me a little bit of hope, you know, like, oh, there’s good people out there, there’s good things happening. And, yeah, it just helps me to, like, keep going, keep learning, keep evolving.
James: And I mean, this is backtracking a bit, but I remember the days when people actually came in here and they were like shoulder to shoulder with each other, getting food. And I’m just glad that we’ve changed that model. And it seems more common because we did that.
Marcia: I know how important it is that, you know, FamilyWorks did not have really a purchasing budget for food prior to the pandemic. We had a very limited, like, list of things that we would buy at only super specific times. And I think that one thing that makes us maybe unique and also maybe just really focused on our values, is that when we were able to increase our food budget because of investment from government agencies and other donors and private foundations, we were also sure to set values on how to spend that money by boosting the local economy and really partnering with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color owned enterprises, which are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and food injustice.
And I think that that’s a really important thing to call out, that an investment in FamilyWorks and in innovation and innovative programs is still value-centric. When we have more resources at our disposal, we will still use it to advance racial equity and justice in our society, and then that is paid forward to the community that we serve.