Food Nerds Unite!
Good morning friends,
We hope that this week has been calming, settling. Kids back in school, vacations wrapped up, Allston Christmas is over and no one got humiliated by a Sturrow-ing on Move-in Day (right? did I miss something? I do love a good Sturrow-ing). We are all back in the swing of it.
Joe and I spent the week at the World Economic Forum's Yes/Boston initiative, hosted at the Mass Challenge offices, joining an amazing and inspiring cohort of stone cold food nerds. Family Dinner, along with 11 other companies, were selected to be a part of this incredible group that seek to provide solutions to the City of Boston at the intersection of food systems, health access and resiliency.
Our work in this cohort seeks to use innovative solutions to bring more local, farm-fresh food into all pockets and corners of the city, meeting folks who live at the nexus of food and transportation insecurity. The planning of this work is fun, complex and endlessly inspiring.
The inspiration comes not only from the folks in the City who are doing the hard and essential work of ensuring that food access is equitable (clap for Mayor Wu's office of Food Justice) but also from the other companies who were selected to do this work.
We heard and learned from Ashlee Wisdom from Health in Her Hue, a company reimagining access to quality care for women of color. They connect women to culturally relevant and sensitive care providers and services, reducing health disparities by leveraging strong communities and technology. [Ashlee's presentation of her work made me teary-eyed with joy and inspiration. - JG]
We fan-girled (yes both Joe and I) over Anna Hammond from Matriark Foods - a company that is upcycling produce into new products; minimizing food waste and feeding our communities. Her incredible products will soon be gracing the black bags of your shares!
It was an extraordinary few days to think and share with other entrepreneurs and to hone our efforts for the next year of this work. And don't worry, we fortified our tired brains and bodies with mountains of pasta and melted cheese at Fox & the Knife, as one should do.
All of you are a part of this journey with us, we thank you for the love and support of the mission of Family Dinner!
Much love,
Erin + Joe
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