FAQs

What do you see as the connections between political approaches, theories of justice, and approaches to social change as you look at where the organizations that we’ve learned from this semester? Disconnections? Where might those come from?

The connections between approaches to social change and Community Servings are tight. Within the social change wheel, Community Servings fits well with the following ways to work toward social change: community organizing and building, and volunteering and direct service. The mission of Community Servings is to actively engage the community in providing customized, nutritious, homemade meals to people with chronic and critical illnesses and their families. As one of the largest volunteer programs in Boston, Community Servings brings together volunteers of all abilities to prepare meals at their facilities, help deliver meals to clients, and help with fundraising events and special charitable activities. In Ruihan’s experience, Community Servings staff will ask volunteers about their interests or skills before the job begins. For example, when they indicated that they enjoyed cooking, they were assigned to the chopping area instead of the area where meals are packaged. In addition to kitchen work, the Community Servings website offers different options for people with different interests and specialties. For example, those with cars can deliver meals to clients in the Boston area; those who don't like kitchen work can choose to support trainees in gaining digital literacy skills, such as searching for job postings, completing online job applications, or building their Indeed.com profiles; Community Servings also offers internship opportunities for registered dietitian nutritionists or individuals with nutrition expertise. These volunteer activities not only help everyone in the community enjoy the right to the nutritious food they need, but also provide an opportunity for people with different skills in the community to act collectively to help the community grow. Volunteers also get to know and understand each other during their service, thus gaining interpersonal connections and strengthening the ability of local residents to work with the organization.

However, there is a relative lack of connection between Community Servings and political approaches. The only information I could find about Community Servings' collaborations is with universities or private companies. For example, Community Servings has partnered with The Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School to launch the Massachusetts Food is Medicine State Plan. The plan, funded in part by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, aims to increase access to medically tailored Food is Medicine interventions across the state by convening healthcare providers, payers, and policy leaders and conducting cutting-edge research. Although Community Servings does not have the support of any political organization, partnering with a leading local university health law center and a private nonprofit organization has allowed Community Servings to gain not only additional financial and human support but also irreplaceable access to nutrition research.

What are the possibilities for alliances– both strategic and tactical (particularly between progressive and radical political approaches)? What are the challenges to alliance and systemic change?

Community Servings has partnered with many businesses and agricultural companies such as Boston Area Gleaners, Community Harvest Project, Daily Table, Land's Sake Farm, Lovin' Spoonfuls, Plainville Farm, The Farm School, and The Food Project. As Community Servings has been enriching initiatives to enhance its approach to providing nutritional care to individuals with serious or chronic illnesses by increasing access to fresh produce and other local foods, it is important that they continue to work with these companies. As a result, they have partnered with many local farms, vendors, and food rescue organizations, and have received many food grants as a result. Community Servings' website records that they receive approximately 50,000 pounds of donated produce each year. This allows them to provide their clients with delicious meals made with local produce and reduce food waste. One strategic approach that could be implemented is if Community Servings and its partner farms can allow customers to pick and receive donations of both vegetables and fruits. In addition, neighbors of Community Servings could do weekly fishing trips at the Gloucester Fisherman's Association and Cape Ann Fresh Catch. Additional fish and shares that are not picked are generously donated to help Community Servings have enough produce for their customers.

At the same time, Community Servings also face challenges, such as the donation of funds. Because there is no government funding, Community Servings has not only partnered with many banks and charities, but has also created different donation methods and programs. Most directly, Community Servings' Chief Development Officer can be contacted directly when someone wants to make operational support or provide grants for special projects, underwrite events, or donate in-kind goods. Community Servings also offers two different donation programs, “Monthly Meal Maker” and “The Chef’s Table.” Donors can choose to join a special giving group to make a regular monthly donation or become a member of Community Servings’ “The Chef's Table” with a donation of $1200 or more per year.