Transforming communities by challenging ourselves, our partners, and our systems to weave trauma-informed principles into our understanding of food security, nourishment, and resilience.
2021 was a year like no other. As the nutrition and food security community “normalized” to the uncertainty and frustration of COVID-19, we also found our footing. The space we created for conversations about self-care, historical trauma, and trauma-informed systems intersected meaningfully with national conversations about race, justice, and health equity. Through our training programs and collaborative efforts, we discussed these overwhelming concepts by investigating the meaning of food in our lives. This lens put into focus both the myriad adversity we contend with as individuals and communities, but also our capacity for joy, resilience, and repair.
It’s amazing that we forged deep connections with one another through computer screens. To me, it demonstrates the readiness and enthusiasm to dive into an innovative new phase of our collective work. I believe we have reached a tipping point; the bravery to discuss hard things and challenge long-held assumptions is everywhere. I end the year tired but optimistic.
Finally, thank you to our donors, funders and the countless stakeholders, partners, volunteers, and community members who have supported our organization and accelerated our impact.
Enjoy our 2021 annual report!
New programs!
In 2021 we added three new programs to our extensive list of offerings: Food Navigation, Wiser Dining, and Trauma-Informed Care in Garden Education.
Food Navigation
The Food Navigator program works to support resident food security at 21 BRIDGE Housing sites throughout California. The program relies on resident input to identify target activities that eventually determine the range of services and resources that will be delivered to residents. In the program's first year, we provided on-site food distribution, CalFresh enrollment, nutrition and cooking classes, and vouchers to neighborhood farmer's markets.
BRIDGE residents have been generous with their time, stories, and acts of kindness. In the Bay Area, where we operate seven food distributions, residents often stop our Food Navigators to share stories about their family food history, favorite recipes, and other small tokens of kindness.
Wiser Dining
Wiser Dining supports congregate meal sites to be positive, health-promoting spaces for clients. The program works with meal site staff to gather client input, identify needs and goals, and implement improvements. Areas of focus include social connection, nutrition, food safety for clients and staff, and volunteer development.
The biggest challenge we faced launching this program was COVID-19 as it limited the type and scope of work that could be completed by sites. For example, with indoor gatherings and social activities suspended, sites were limited in environmental improvements and their ability to connect clients to a wide variety of nutrition and physical activity programs.
Despite these challenges, sites made great efforts to maintain connections with clients. Nearly all ten of the Wiser Dining sites modified services and continued programming. Some examples include virtual nutrition education, physical activity classes, Bingocize, take-home gardening, and exercise kits and other activities.
Trauma-Informed Care in Garden Education
Designed in conjunction with School Garden Network, this training provides educators with strategies to establish the garden as a space for healing and community collaboration. Educators create a custom plan for implementing trauma-informed practices and they develop relationships with other educators.
We forged new pathways in our virtual curriculum and products.
Our curriculum and products continue to take new shape as we evaluate new data and gather feedback from our partners.
Trauma-Informed Nutrition Security Through the Lens of Historical Trauma
Like much of America after the “racial reckoning” that began in 2020, we recognized the need to specifically address the impact of racism and historical trauma on community nutrition security.
In 2021, we created training content on historical trauma, focusing on systemic racism and colonialism’s impact on Black and Indigenous Americans. Recognizing how oppressive socio-economic forces and systems have undermined the health and well-being of people today has significant implications for nutrition security programs.
In alignment with our strengths-based approach, we called upon our partners to support the practices, skills, and cultural wisdom of the communities in which they operate, to begin to change the legacy of racism and historical trauma.
Eatfresh.org Relaunched
We relaunched Eatfresh.org with an updated look and feel, new recipes, photos, and videos. The site can be translated into 100+ languages, includes ADA compliant features, and now has a chat widget to ask our dietitian questions.
We also moved the EatFresh Mini Course over to our learning management system where participants can view learning modules on a modern, easy-to-use interface.
The Learning Collaborative hits its stride.
In 2021 we held two Trauma-Informed Learning Collaboratives. Our first Collaborative of 2021 was open to organizations in Merced County, CA. The second was for departments within the Indiana Department of Health.
The goals of the Learning Collaborative are for organizations to build capacity to implement trauma-informed programs, deepen relationships within networks, and document tangible examples of trauma-informed programming. All participating teams choose a specific program or project to work on over the course of the Collaborative.
2021 Projects Included:
- Developed new data collection procedure among service providers to improve communication and transparency between departments.
- Collaborated with Spanish-and-Hmong speaking community members to create a culturally appropriate, trauma-informed glossary for program participants.
- Developed client-choice pantry space with culturally appropriate food items offered in a dignified manner.
- Created an internal communication plan to support a positive cultural shift within a committee.
- Developed a trauma-informed training program for subcontractors to support their professional development and ability to integrate trauma-informed principles into their interactions with program participants.
- Integrated trauma-informed principles into the grant application process.
We measured our impact.
We gather data and feedback to ensure we're hitting our mark.
Training Impact Overview
In 2021 we increased our partners trained by eight percent to 1483 from the previous year. Since 2019 we have trained over 3,000 partners across 33 states.
“This training was wonderful. It was insightful and engaging – everything that was part of this training had a purpose – nothing was there just to fill time or space. The facilitators were authentic and honest when facilitating and when sharing their own experiences with the pilots of this curriculum. I am so excited to put this training into practice one day in my County! THANK YOU!!” –Around the Table participant from Wisconsin SNAP-Ed
Curriculum Orders
How do we know our implementers are out teaching in their communities? Our vibrant implementer networks, participation data rolling in from partners across the country, and orders for curriculum materials up 375% from 2020!
New NPP Graduates and Food Security Sites
In 2021, Leah’s Pantry trained over 155 community implementers in our Nutrition Pantry Program and saw a 300% increase from the previous year in food security site activities driven by the NPP program.
Congrats to Eastmont Community Center and St Francis Community center on their Gold Certification, and El Lirio’s Pantry on their Bronze Certification this year!
Thank you for this training. I’m excited about Leah’s Pantry and feel it will help our pantries become stronger not just nutritionally but as a welcoming resource. –Nutrition Educator
Despite COVID, we still enjoyed time with our communities.
We delivered over 250 workshops to over 3,200 participants in both virtual and in-person environments - over 100 more workshops than last year!
Nearly 10% of these workshops were held in either Spanish or Chinese.
Nutrition courses are beneficial to people of all ages. It can help us understand the nutritional value of various foods and teach us how to choose useful seasonal fruits and vegetables. Thank you for arranging this course for us. –Workshop Participant
Food Navigation Program Made a HUGE Impact in its First Year
Our Food Navigation program supports food security at 21 BRIDGE Housing communities. During our first year, we distributed nearly 120,000 lbs of food worth $200,000 to BRIDGE residents alongside education, outreach, and community-building activities.
The School Garden Program Grows
In San Diego, our School Garden Education team taps the energy and expertise from a remarkable array of organizational partners and individual volunteers to transform urban schoolyards. Through discovery-based learning, our gardens connect students to healthy food, the natural world and their communities, while enhancing academic performance and fostering resilience. They are dynamic spaces that inspire and engage children to grow food for each other and for a healthy future.
In 2021, our educators delivered 198 classes to over 1,000 elementary and high-school students. Our school gardens produced hundreds of pounds of fresh produce for grassroots food distribution as well as hundreds of plants for neighbors interested in starting backyard gardens.
Finally, we continued to build relationships with partners and community members.
Here are some of our favorite stories from 2021.
Chef Kevin taught weekly, virtual food demos for the SF Food as Medicine Collaborative patients. At the end of each food demo, the food would turn out looking so good that the participants would joke about taking a field trip over to Chef Kevin's kitchen to smell and taste it in person. To celebrate the program, they are planning a COVID-safe, in-person gathering for the end of the year so that they can finally meet in person!
Pictured left: Chef Kevin displays Chicken and Cabbage Salad dish from eatfresh.org.
The Interfaith Food Center sent us this photo and quote about how they developed artwork at their food distribution site.
We attended an event at LA Kitchen years ago which was our introduction to Leah’s Pantry and one of the questions we were asked was ‘if someone from outer space came and saw your pantry, how would they know by looking at your building what you do there’ or something to that effect.
Since then I have wanted to get some pallet/fruit and vegetable art on our walls. I approached one of our artistic volunteers about this project and this picture shows the fruit of her labors. We love them and I wanted to thank you all for the food for thought behind the work." - Interfaith Food Center
Pictured left: Painted pallets from the Interfaith Food Center
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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