Dear Friends,
On a recent morning, a truck pulled into a parking lot in Hackensack, New Jersey, and workers began unloading boxes of colorful, fresh produce. In nearby Garfield, a similar scene played out in the YMCA parking lot, as volunteers lined up to distribute the boxes to their neighbors.
The produce deliveries were an unexpected outgrowth of our Diabetes Prevention Program, a community-based initiative operating in Hackensack and Garfield, two Bergen County cities with disproportionately high rates of the disease. Since early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, these deliveries have taken place regularly to address the growing problem of food insecurity—an especially pressing issue for those living in lower-income communities and at risk of developing (or who are currently managing) diabetes.
This new undertaking is one illustration of how The Russell Berrie Foundation has pivoted quickly throughout the pandemic, working closely with our community-based grantees to address newly urgent needs as swiftly and creatively as possible. I am particularly proud because it highlights two of our Foundation’s key operating principles: Investing in organizations and individuals that are deeply respected within the communities they serve, and truly partnering with these grantees to amplify their impact by bringing not just our checkbook, but our ideas, expertise and extended network.
Because we make a point of investing in partner organizations that enjoy a great deal of trust and credibility in the communities they serve, our grantees in Hackensack and Garfield were immediately tapped into the growing alarm around food insecurity, set off by COVID-19 lockdowns and their economic repercussions. And because of our close relationships with these grantees, as well as our commitment to be flexible and agile amid the turbulence of the pandemic, we were able to put our heads together to come up with sum-is-greater-than-its-parts solutions.
When our grantees initially floated the idea of giving program participants food gift cards, we took that as the starting point. In an effort led by RBF Program Officer Kaarin Varon, the solutions we landed on meet participants’ needs more fully and will be easier to sustain after the current crisis subsides.
In Hackensack, we are sourcing the produce deliveries from a non-profit distributor that works with sustainable family farms. In addition, we are now working on partnering with a local food bank to provide Bergen County residents with protein-rich foods like peanut butter and eggs, which are essential to managing diabetes.
In Garfield, the food deliveries were organized by a coalition of local community groups. At the coalition’s behest, our Foundation funded an ongoing assessment of local food insecurity that is likely to inform future initiatives. An RBF grant to the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance also made it possible for the Garfield Y to serve as a distribution center for the fresh produce.
We launched the Diabetes Prevention Program two years ago; in Garfield, it is spearheaded by the Health Awareness Regional Program (HARP) of Hackensack University Medical Center, and in Hackensack by the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI). The idea behind the program is that diabetes will not be eradicated from the top down. To meaningfully loosen the grip of this disease that plagues millions of Americans, we need to work at the grass-roots level, with well-regarded local organizations that understand the nuances of people’s lives, cultures and communities.
The two lead grantees do not operate in a vacuum. Rather, they work with a constellation of other local groups that touch on different aspects of constituents’ lives. Working collaboratively, these groups are well-positioned to create an environment that helps more people be successful as they embark on the immense challenge of shifting their dietary, exercise and other lifestyle habits.
When we began investing in strengthening relationships during “normal” times—between grantees and the communities they serve, between grantees and other local organizations that are tackling the same problems from different angles, and between philanthropists and the grantees we invest in—we saw a way to help our local communities thrive. What none of us knew at the time was that the landscape would change so rapidly.
The coronavirus crisis revealed the added benefit of being able to pivot. When organizations build their connectivity and capacity to collaborate, they develop a critical asset that is valuable not only for carrying out planned programs, but also for meeting totally unforeseen challenges.
To make lasting change, we must build the close relationships that enable us to adjust our responses when the landscape abruptly shifts. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that change is the only constant.
Sincerely,
Ruth Salzman
Chief Executive Officer
