Tell me about yourself – dealer’s choice!
Hello! I’m Zoe and I am a native to the Fargo/Moorhead area, I have been with the Great Plains Food Bank since May of 2020. I work as the Community Initiatives Manager on the Ending Hunger 2.0 team.
My role is to look at the root causes of why individuals are experiencing food insecurity and find solutions to those so that long term they do not need to use the Charitable Feeding Network.
I graduated from the University of North Dakota with a BS in Elementary Education in 2015, taught for a few years and was in the Peace Corps Rwanda for two years. When I came back to the States I pursued a Masters in Social Work through Boston University and graduated in May of this year! (yay).
Through my Masters, I really learned about my passion for our community and making sure everyone has access to what they need to thrive. I currently serve on the City of Fargo’s Sustainability Committee along with the Human Rights Commission. In my free time, I love to try new restaurants, participate in community events and hang out with my cat Ava.
You’re deeply involved in the community…the Neighborhood Association, the Food Bank, and running for office to serve on the Park Board! What draws you to community work, and why is the food bank such an important part of it?
The Food Bank really started my dive into community work. I relearned about our community through the lens of food security and it has now evolved to look at all aspects of people’s health and wellbeing. I have learned through my work to really listen to community and let that guide our work. I also recognized that not all our communities have equitable access to the things they need to thrive and through my masters classes really became interested in looking at systems and policies currently in place and how we can make them more inclusive.
Tell us about the “pop up pantries” like the one that is located at the Neighborhood Church. How did they come about? Any good stories or memories to share about them?
Oh boy they started before I started! However, pop-ups are great because we are meeting the community where they are. We know transportation is a barrier for many in our community, so getting food resources closer to community is key!
We currently have food pantry pop ups at The Neighborhood Church, Pontoppidan Lutheran and West Fargo Eats. We also have our Mobile Food Pantry Program- this is where we take our semi out into rural ND and Clay County MN to get fresh produce and shelf-stable food boxes to our rural community members to reduce the transportation barrier.
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