Lovin' Spoonfuls adopts inclusion tenets
Core values are the fundamental beliefs of an organization and act as guiding principles that help people understand the difference between right and wrong in the context of the mission. Using core values helps move Lovin’ Spoonfuls down our path toward our mission.
Based on the ongoing need for racial justice and equity in our community, leadership and staff at Lovin’ Spoonfuls did some deep reflection of our role in anti-racism and our culture of equity, inclusion, and increased diversity.
In continued solidarity and advocacy, one of our responses was a reconsideration of our core values and working together to formulate inclusion tenets this fall to help us more clearly connect our mission and goals to this need.
These are our core values that tell us what we do in service of our mission and the related inclusion tenets that explain how we put them to action:
Community: Lovin’ Spoonfuls offers compassionate service in direct response to the needs of the community. We provide community-based organizations with quality foods that correspond to their unique needs, and offer food education programming to help them make the most of our deliveries. We work to build an inclusive community within our organization and with our supporters.
We do this by:
- Building rapport with beneficiary check-ins and routinely checking in on the ground with our partners;
- Remaining flexible and ensuring the product meets the needs of our partner organizations and their clients;
- Emphasizing humanity and dignity for our beneficiaries and stakeholders first when challenging situations arise.
Teamwork: Lovin’ Spoonfuls embraces teamwork, camaraderie, and collaborative problem-solving at all levels of our operation. We welcome diverse perspectives and believe that inclusivity is the only way to affect change. We build meaningful relationships through communication and transparency.
We do this by:
- Communicating vital information with each other across functions to keep everyone informed, set up for success, and allowing us to deliver our mission;
- Recognizing and viewing differences as a strength of the collective;
- Seeking to partner with colleagues to make a positive social impact and seeking external partnerships with organizations which promote social change.
Resilience: Lovin’ Spoonfuls strives to be adaptive, consistent, and thoughtful in response to the unique challenges of food rescue and food insecurity. We persistently work towards a more equitable food system for all.
We do this by:
- Being flexible in the face of uncertainty;
- Doing everything in our power to persevere through obstacles and get food and resources to our beneficiaries;
- Recognizing food insecurity as a symptom of a larger societal problem and displaying a strong stance against oppressive systems.
Respect: Lovin’ Spoonfuls treats our partners, colleagues, and everyone we interact with the way we expect to be treated – with dignity and fairness. We respect the food we work with as well as the community and environment it connects us to.
We do this by:
- Acknowledging beneficiary needs with empathy and professionalism through active listening;
- Actively seeking to learn the values of the communities we serve, particularly those disproportionately affected by systemic barriers;
- Being willing to have difficult conversations and openness to feedback that allows for important conversations.
Commitment: Lovin’ Spoonfuls commits to consistency, reliability, and professionalism in the work we do every day. We each commit our own unique knowledge and skills to the greater success of our mission. Through ongoing employee education and training, we remain diligent leaders at the forefront of food rescue.
We do this by:
- Intentionally seeking and hiring committed team members who mirror our core values;
- Supporting the team by sharing resources, providing opportunity for growth, and caring for each other’s health and safety;
- Supporting team and partners by showing up, being consistent, recognizing the needs of others, and responding in a timely manner.
Food: Lovin’ Spoonfuls believes access to healthy food is a basic human right. We believe food acts as a unifier to bring people together, and as a foundation of well-being. We are committed to improving our food system by reducing food waste — and the adverse effects it has on our environment — and sharing resources to enable others to do the same.
We do this by:
- Ensuring that the quality of food we rescue reflects the dignity we hold for the wellbeing of the people we serve including their social and religious traditions;
- Strategically determining where food goes in our communities in order to have the greatest impact for marginalized communities and social change;
- Engaging in conversations with our beneficiaries to receive feedback and ensure the food we deliver provides the greatest benefit.