A Message From Executive Director, Adrienne Markworth
What gives life to an organization? How does an organization embody its values during times of change? At the beginning of 2022, we faced an exciting year ahead. The staff at Leah’s Pantry organized a Growth and Change Committee to explore what Leah’s Pantry would look like at double the size while keeping our current values and commitment to trauma-informed care at the center. Using an appreciative approach, we mapped out principles to guide us with a focus on our strengths.
Almost a year later, I’m surprisingly emotional as our (now-doubled) staff share with one another the kind of lasting impact they want to make, and how Leah’s Pantry is a place they are proud to do that. What strikes me now is that even with many new people, it still feels like the same organization I’ve always loved to be a part of. I don’t think we got “lucky” - I think our veteran staff did an unbelievable job of welcoming our newcomers. But also, our newcomers came in with a perfect combination of enthusiasm and vulnerability - watching, learning, but also contributing from day one.
So, while this annual report will share our impact using external metrics - how many we reach, how well we reach them, and how many states and organizations have adopted our programs - I want to emphasize that the exceptional results in this report are grounded in our people, our culture, and our commitment to thoughtful and appreciative processes.
I cannot close without acknowledging that our efforts to translate the science of trauma and resilience into community nutrition happen because we have the privilege of partnering with an outstanding community of program participants, board members, funders, partners, clients, and supporters. It is an honor to work alongside you, and I look forward to the year ahead.
Where Are We Now?
In 2022, our programs continued to evolve - growing, improving, and reaching new audiences.
Official CalFresh Healthy Living Training Lead
In April, we became the CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) Statewide Training Lead. Our task is to provide training and technical support to the over 1,500 CFHL staff and hundreds of implementing agencies that support community health and nutrition security in all California counties. This expands our existing training efforts by more than double and allows us to hire new talent and invest in a best-in-class training infrastructure.
Pictured left: CalFresh Healthy Living staff work together to bring food waste reduction efforts into CFHL at our annual forum.
One Safe Community for All
One Safe Place is a center for victims of violence run by the North County Family Justice Center, which provides comprehensive services to anyone who has experienced child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, hate crime, elder abuse, human trafficking, violent loss, family violence, or other abuse or victimization.
Through Leah’s Pantry’s partnership with One Safe Place, we provide drop-in cooking demonstrations, fresh produce distributions, and cooking and nutrition classes to adults and children who receive services at the center. We also invite participants of One Safe Place partner organizations to join our classes. This effort was funded by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
A participant from a Food Smarts series shared that she looked forward to class every week. She said they were a “shining light” through the difficult time she was going through as she tried to overcome traumatic experiences and gain custody of her children.
Another participant, a survivor of sex trafficking, shared she used to struggle with bulimia but has made changes in her relationship to food to overcome it. She mentioned that the topics we discussed in class and the recipes we made together have given her helpful tools to keep her on track.
Thought Leadership
Read All About It!
Monica and Adrienne were invited to author a chapter in From Trauma to Resiliency: Trauma-Informed Practices for Working with Children, Families, Schools, and Communities. This book integrates research and practice of trauma-informed care, reviewing the neuroscience of trauma and highlighting relationship-based interventions for diverse populations that have faced multiple traumas. Professionals and students in counseling, social work, psychology, child welfare, education, and other programs will come away from the book with culturally affirming, trauma-informed interventions and models of care that promote well-being and resilience.
Thank you Dr. Audrey Hokoda and Dr. Shulamit Ritblatt for bringing together such a beautiful group of practitioners.
Gathering with Purpose
One of our most effective ways to learn from colleagues across settings and sectors is to participate in conferences and prepare presentations. In 2022, we were invited to speak at events for food bankers, medical providers, dietitians, youth advocates, higher education professionals, and public health professionals across the country. We prepared over 26 formal presentations in 2022, engaging with thousands of colleagues across the country.
Pictured right: Adrienne, Dr. Erin Brakebill and Dr. Blakely Amati at the ACLM Conference in Orlando, FL (November)
Reaching Across the U.S
Leah's Pantry builds capacity of SNAP-Ed programs, healthcare organizations, and food banks throughout the country. We have trained professionals in nearly all 50 states. We envision communities where everyone can cultivate a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. We build and align community nutrition and food security efforts with trauma-informed, resilience-focused principles.
In 2022 we trained implementers across 19 states including Guam and plan on delivering training across five additional states in early 2023.
Global Participation
Earlier in 2022, Leah’s Pantry hosted Nevena Pandža, a nutritionist from Bosnia Herzegovina, through a State Department initiative for European entrepreneurs called The Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative. This fall, Leah became a fellow herself, and traveled to Bosnia Herzegovina to support Nevena’s workplan and learn how trauma-informed nutrition looks in a different part of the world!
Leah shared, "I was excited to see how our trauma-informed programming would be received in another country, and I wanted to learn more about Bosnia and Herzegovina. I was thrilled to be accepted as a YTILI reciprocal fellow and had the opportunity to travel to three cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Nevena as we hosted a series of trauma-informed nutrition workshops."
Leah shares a mindfulness exercise with new colleagues.
Measuring our Impact
As our organization grows, we track our reach, effectiveness, and which of our partners have adopted and implemented our nutrition security programs.
Supporting Community Nutrition Security at 175 Locations!
Our Nutrition Pantry Program supports food distributions, and our Food Navigation sites support affordable housing residents working towards food security. Thanks to our continued partnership with BRIDGE Housing and our thriving NPP implementers, Leah's Pantry programs were active at 175 sites, a 16% increase from last year!
Working in Community
Our training program has grown, but our staff still makes time to facilitate workshops in our home communities. Despite continued COVID-related barriers, we engaged over 4,700 participants in Food Smarts and Around the Table workshops.
Community Nutrition and Food Security Professionals Rely on Leah's Pantry for Cutting-Edge, Trauma-Informed Trainings
Between October 2021, and September, 2022 over 1500 professionals completed a Leah's Pantry training course. We expect this number to close to double in 2023!
Thank You to our Donors and Funders
To all our donors, funders, and partners — thank you for helping us improve the health, wellness, and resilience of communities through trauma-informed nutrition security.
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