Look for the Helpers 8: Food and Dignity

This episode centers on Dan Zauderer, founder and CEO of Grassroots Grocery, and his effort to address food insecurity through a model rooted in dignity, volunteerism, and neighborhood connection. Dan explains that Grassroots Grocery is not simply a food distribution nonprofit. It is a movement built around a simple but powerful idea: neighbors helping neighbors. The work uses food as the medium, while the deeper mission is to rebuild community and belonging.  

A major strength of the conversation is the way Dan reframes food insecurity. He pushes back against the narrow picture many people hold in their minds. Food insecurity is not limited to extreme starvation or visible homelessness. It also includes working families, people in public housing, and households that simply cannot afford healthy, life-affirming food regularly. He makes clear that many people who objectively qualify as food insecure would never describe themselves that way. Shame, comparison, and social stigma distort self-perception. That insight gives the episode unusual depth. It moves the issue from charity language into systems and identity.  

Dan then outlines the organization’s two main programs. The first is The Great Sandwich Race, a corporate volunteer experience in which teams race against the clock to make sandwiches that are later delivered to community partners serving people in need across New York City. The second is the Produce Party, Grassroots Grocery’s flagship Saturday operation in the Bronx. Volunteers gather in a parking lot, unload donated produce, sort and pack it, compost what cannot be used, and then drive the produce out to about 30 communities through local volunteer leaders called Grassroots Grocers. Dan describes this system as a hub-and-spoke model. It is simple, asset-light, and highly scalable.  

The episode becomes especially strong when it shifts from logistics to ethos. Dan insists that this work is joyful. He rejects the idea that social action must be fueled mainly by anger. He wants to build a movement that feels celebratory, participatory, and alive. That is why the language matters. It is a “produce party,” not a grim service line. It is a “great sandwich race,” not a sterile volunteer shift. Through those choices, the organization creates energy that invites broad participation across class, age, religion, and background. Dan says plainly that even people with means, even families driving expensive cars, are welcome in the tent if they are willing to show up and help. This openness becomes one of the most compelling leadership principles in the episode.  

Find out more about Grassroots Greocery: https://www.grassrootsgrocery.org/

Transcript

00:00
Welcome to the Design and Religion Podcast. I'm Van Shea Sedita, a service designer, illustrator, and gesture interface patent holder. I'm joined by the Reverend Dr. Nate Phillips, head pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church, and author of Do Something Else.

00:18
Together, we explore how design can shape the future of religion, helping it evolve to better serve people's needs and spread love more effectively.

00:28
This conversation really stayed with me.

00:30
An old friend of mine, Dan Zerarder, the CEO of Grassroots Grocery, is addressing hunger,

00:36
but he's also rebuilding community, one produce party and one sandwich race at a time.

00:41
What stood out most was his belief that service can be joyful, dignified, and transformative

00:46
for everyone involved.

00:48
Have a listen.

00:49
My name is Dan Zerarder, and I am the founder and CEO of Grassroots Grocery.

00:57
And our mission to your grassroots grocery is to build a community of neighbor-solving neighbors to bring the pantry to the people.

01:06
This is one of those hero stories, as I, in my opinion.

01:10
He was walking to his job, teaching in the Bronx, and ran into one of his students.

01:16
And next to his students was an old lady digging through the trash.

01:21
And he said, oh, that's my grandmother.

01:23
This is normal.

01:26
That was the impetus for Dan to stop his teaching job and start grassroots grocery.

01:32
Grassroots grocery.

01:33
With this, we're doing a series.

01:36
And Nate, do you want to talk about what the series is reflecting on?

01:39
Yeah, this is kind of, I guess, part of my job is to, I'm a big Mr. Rogers person, Dan.

01:45
I don't know if you are.

01:47
Sure, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

01:49
That's right.

01:50
That's right.

01:50
And I grew up watching Mr. Rogers.

01:53
And as I remind everyone, every time we do a podcast on this series, Mr. Rogers was a Presbyterian minister.

02:03
Correct.

02:04
And so, you know, he's a personal hero.

02:07
And one of the things that Mr. Rogers said of the many great things he said was actually from his mother, where she told him that when in times of trouble, basically, look for the helpers.

02:21
There will always be helpers.

02:23
and and he also wanted people to like the media to show the helpers when there was a hurricane or

02:30
some natural disaster or something bad going on in the world and to remind people that there are

02:36
helpers out there and so that's kind of what we're trying to do right now you know we van and i have

02:39
struggled a bit with you know together about just the state of things and we could scream into the

02:48
wind that's what some are doing and that's fine but we've decided to do this work of

02:55
looking for the helpers and van came upon you or was reminded of you in some way and i just

03:03
wonder dan you you set out your mission right away i wonder if you could just start by explaining the

03:11
term food insecurity i guess let me explain it might be easier to to to talk about misconceptions

03:21
behind that term first or you tell me when when you think of the word food insecure i mean you

03:27
may already be educated on the issue but but when you know the when a lay person who doesn't know

03:33
about you know the issue thinks about that word what do you think you know comes to mind

03:39
i think what comes to mind are people going to food banks because they don't have enough food

03:45
to eat um i don't think many people i will say this i'll just admit this for the benefit of

03:52
anyone else that needs to admit it i don't think the idea of a food desert was a concept that i

03:59
never thought of until maybe six years ago so i don't know that that's like in the lexicon right

04:07
now like people are talking about it and now there's actually a term called food swamp uh okay

04:13
which is which is just an extension of the term food desert but yeah no i i think that

04:18
i think that you know where i was going with that is is is just um that i think a lot of people kind

04:24
of picture like a a malnourished you know like starving person um and and which is not to say

04:36
that that profile does not exist in our country.

04:41
Sadly, I think it does.

04:44
More due to challenges with mental health

04:48
and things like that

04:49
than due to actual lack of availability

04:52
of any kind of sustenance,

04:53
like there are food pantries

04:55
and things like that available

04:56
for folks in emergency situations.

04:59
But I think that the much larger umbrella

05:05
is being lacking in the type of food that one needs to live an active and healthy life.

05:16
And that's really what it comes down to, right?

05:19
And so then that really widens the umbrella.

05:26
And it brings in folks who are, you know, I think oftentimes people think about unhoused people, for example.

05:35
And yes, that's a community that certainly struggles with food insecurity.

05:40
But what about folks who are working full time, who have families and who take the subway to work like you and me and who just can't afford to put the right kinds of nutritious, healthy, life affirming food on the table?

06:04
And that's a much bigger percentage. That's a much bigger umbrella. And that's what we're really solving for at Grassroots Grocery, because that's also the population that's in a way harder to reach.

06:27
because a lot of these folks are not, you know, what's interesting about this community is of

06:33
folks that are just, you know, lacking in like healthy food resources for their family,

06:38
is that often they're not even self-reporting as food insecure. They measure objectively,

06:45
like objective measures show this person is food insecure. But if you were to ask them,

06:50
are you food insecure many of them actually compare themselves to imagined others or sometimes real

07:00
others um and say oh i'm not food insecure because i'm not i'm not one of one of those people whatever

07:05
that means in their head um so anyway so so i i think that yeah the basic definition is lacking the

07:13
the resources for you and or your family to live an active and healthy life right so

07:21
you're doing this thing which i hope will be help folks to sort of expand their thinking on this

07:29
where you're saying like this isn't just about like when i was a kid i remember getting government

07:33
cheese right yeah you're saying like cool what we need is a bigger plan where kids and

07:41
you know adults are getting not just the very bare minimum but you are talking about a healthy life

07:52
yeah and healthy food right yes because i think that you know one of the things that

07:59
that we learned that i learned in this work is that

08:05
so many community members

08:10
across

08:12
race and

08:14
economics

08:16
background and religion

08:18
and ethnicity, all those different things,

08:20
so many people crave

08:22
healthy food.

08:24
And there's this

08:27
I think that there's

08:28
this idea

08:33
that

08:33
know what it what it means to eat healthy and and i there is some truth to that that education

08:41
can be helpful but but the real challenge is is that it's actually really expensive to eat healthy

08:51
um and and and so at grassroots grocery they're kind of two different programs that we operate

08:56
if we get into that one is um one is actually more geared toward um this sort of transitional

09:02
housing, unhoused population. And that's a program that we do called the Great Sandwich Race.

09:10
That's a team building activity in corporate America where corporate teams race against the

09:15
clock to make as many sandwiches as they can. And we facilitate the delivery to different communities.

09:20
But then the other thing that we do is this produce party that we do on Saturdays.

09:25
And that's kind of our flagship corporate volunteering experience. And in that produce

09:29
party um that's focused only on produce and it's really it's mostly reaching folks who have homes

09:39
folks who are working folks who are living in public housing for example who just need that

09:45
that supplemental nutritional assistance i'm not talking about the snap program right i just

09:51
realized I used that term. But they need that. Yeah, they just need they need healthy food,

10:02
because that's the first thing that a family is cutting out at the cash register, right? Because,

10:09
you know, the prices of healthy food are just really high. And they're actually higher,

10:15
The lower income the community becomes, the higher price the food becomes in that community.

10:24
It makes me think about something that was just going around in my head yesterday.

10:30
Trust me, it's connected.

10:32
I was thinking about how there are people in this world right now who have more money than any other person has ever had in the history of the world.

10:43
Those people could literally do, let's just say one thing and change the world forever.

10:54
They'd be in history books for hundreds of years that they did this thing.

11:00
And I don't know, you know, and I was thinking, what would that thing be?

11:04
But one thing that came to my mind, of course, was around hunger.

11:10
Is there a silver bullet?

11:12
If you had the checkbook that some people have,

11:16
silver bullet in the work that you've seen

11:20
that needs to be done.

11:21
Interesting.

11:22
Yeah.

11:22
I mean, I think that, I don't know.

11:27
I mean, first of all,

11:30
I think that one of the things

11:32
that sets our country apart in a positive way

11:36
is that we do have a really robust culture

11:41
of philanthropy.

11:43
And I think that what's interesting about that is that our philanthropy culture in the United States, I think it's actually a counterpart to the capitalism of the United States.

11:58
Because it, you know, because the product of the capitalist system is folks who have resources and it's based on individualism.

12:11
And so then individuals and resources who are also committed to the growth of their community are compelled to share those resources with people who don't have as much as they do.

12:25
And so just to give another perspective, yes, the distribution of wealth is – I don't think anyone can look at that and say, okay, that's fine, right?

12:41
But I do think that it's because of our capitalism that we have such a thriving philanthropic sector in this country.

12:54
And then I think in terms of this idea of like a silver bullet, I think that that's another piece of it is that so many of these issues, they're all multifactorial in their origins.

13:12
And so, you know, if food insecurity had one cause, it would be much easier to tackle.

13:20
But I think that it's really symptomatic of the society that we live in for all of its positives and negatives, you know.

13:33
And I think really to eliminate food insecurity, you have to fundamentally change our social structure probably, right?

13:44
But I also don't get mired in the, you know, I mean, it's interesting to think about, right?

13:49
And I'm so grateful for the question.

13:55
And I would also just share that we're focused on, yes, at Graduate Grocery, yes, we're focused on the medium is food.

14:06
The real ethos is neighbors helping neighbors.

14:10
And so we're really focused, which is nice to, Mr. Rogers is a very fitting theme.

14:18
You know, won't you be my neighbor?

14:22
Because kind of in the midst of all of these challenges that you're bringing up,

14:28
the one thing that we all can do and that energizes us all

14:34
is coming together as community to be there for our fellow neighbors.

14:43
That way you just took that so cool because you made me think differently.

14:48
And because if you did, if you did have that silver bullet, it would almost be robbing the rest of us of the opportunity for transformation that is available to us in helping.

15:06
In my tradition, we are Christians.

15:11
This is what Jesus says.

15:12
Jesus takes off the towel and washes his disciples feet at the Last Supper.

15:18
and he says, you know, do things the way I do them.

15:23
And so what sometimes I think we do,

15:26
this is an extension of the point,

15:29
is we fantasize about the silver bullet

15:32
almost as a way to say,

15:36
or maybe avoid,

15:38
our own responsibility.

15:41
Right.

15:42
And it's easy to,

15:45
I think it's easy to say,

15:48
you know hey there are

15:52
you know why should I donate to charity

15:54
there are billionaires there you know right

15:55
or you know people are always

16:00
going to be hungry like so why

16:03
why do you know it's like you said it's easy to scream in the wind

16:06
or it's also easy to just shrug

16:09
and

16:11
and I think that

16:16
that's

16:17
ultimately

16:20
it's

16:21
again food is the way

16:22
that we're doing it right now but

16:24
the

16:26
the real

16:28
the real why

16:31
is about

16:33
coming together

16:34
as a community that

16:36
insists on

16:39
on being there

16:40
for your neighbors

16:42
and

16:46
the

16:47
belief that this is a far more powerful antidote than I think any kind of emergency food assistance

16:54
program alone can provide. The transformational effects of being a part of a community

17:03
and what that does for one's own sense of belonging in the world and how one relates to

17:13
to their others, you know, that's something that is also really hard to measure, but something

17:19
that we're really excited about at grassroots grocery.

17:22
And I think that that's, you know, as our name kind of suggests, it's like about this

17:27
grassroots energy that we hope to bring to the world.

17:32
So, well, one of the things that jumps into my mind immediately when you talk about community

17:37
helping each other, I think that just reduces the stigma that everyone has into accepting

17:46
food from basically the back of a truck.

17:51
And where does that instill dignity?

17:55
I think there's a big obvious call to dignity in circumstances like that.

18:06
Yeah.

18:07
you know, less of a question and more of a point. And, you know, I know that,

18:12
you know, if somebody does have a job where they can afford, you know, five Mercedes in their garage,

18:18
maybe they just cut down to two Hondas and they're able to donate, you know, and they talk about

18:25
transformation. That in itself is a transformation to be able to, you know, narrow down your need for

18:34
really nice stuff and help other people.

18:36
That's true, yeah. And I also

18:38
think, I also think

18:41
that

18:42
at Grassroots Grocery

18:44
our tent,

18:47
our job,

18:48
I view my role

18:51
as

18:52
building

18:54
and this is also part of dignity,

18:56
like building the

18:58
largest tent possible, right?

19:00
And so

19:01
So if you want to have your five Mercedes, but you can also make time on Saturday to sort some okra and deliver it to the community in your Mercedes, you're just as welcome as the person living in the public housing development right next to the produce part.

19:21
And that's often what we see. We see, you know, the super, you know, well-resourced families, like from a financial perspective, you know, sorting and bagging this fresh produce with their kids and families, but in the mix of so many other different types of communities.

19:46
And I think that for me, it's not my place to, you know, I want to cast a wide net because I think I also want to show the world, and we are showing the world one produce party and one great sandwich race at a time, that this work is joyful.

20:08
that this work can be celebratory,

20:14
that this work is just pretty darn fun.

20:18
You know, we would call it a produce party.

20:21
What we do on Saturday, it's a party.

20:22
We would call it a great sandwich race during the week

20:25
when we do incorporations, because this is about,

20:29
it's about enlivening, right?

20:34
It's like the population, not everything has to be a,

20:39
I guess from the beginning,

20:41
you know, I just always

20:43
it's like, how do you build a movement?

20:45
You know, do you do it by

20:49
by being, I guess some movements

20:51
are built around like anger

20:53
and, you know, for sure.

20:55
But that's not the kind of movement that I want to be

20:57
that I want to lead.

20:59
I don't think that that would get me up

21:01
every day.

21:02
So.

21:03
I think, I don't think we've given you a chance to

21:05
Oh, sorry, man.

21:07
Well, Nate, I think I know what you were going to say, but Dan, your positivity is just fantastic.

21:16
If anything is attributed to the success of grassroots grocery, I would think your positivity and the way you look at the world and the problem you're solving is just fantastic.

21:30
So, you know, silent applause your way.

21:34
Thank you for that.

21:35
I appreciate that.

21:36
And I think that I'm just lucky to be a part of a, I mean, just think about, just think about what I get to witness.

21:45
like

21:47
every Saturday

21:48
basically

21:50
I get to witness

21:53
the

21:54
back of an empty parking lot

21:58
transform

22:00
into

22:01
like a hub

22:03
music

22:04
blasting

22:07
kid filled

22:08
activity

22:10
that results

22:13
in

22:14
1,500 families

22:16
receiving fresh produce.

22:18
And they're all volunteers

22:20
on every side of that.

22:24
I get to witness

22:26
this magical transformation

22:28
of a parking lot every Saturday morning.

22:31
And tomorrow

22:35
we're going

22:36
to one of our

22:38
corporate partners

22:43
and

22:43
a room of, you know, I don't know, 100 people who are working at their desks.

22:56
I get to witness that space transform into a sandwich making factory that's going to ultimately produce protein pack meals

23:07
that will reach hundreds of our most needing New Yorkers.

23:16
All because they're volunteering to do their time.

23:20
And so I think it's, when I sit in that,

23:25
it's hard not to be positive.

23:28
And of course, like I have a lot of challenges.

23:30
It's been really hard to grow this thing.

23:32
And it's been probably the biggest learning curve,

23:34
probably the largest challenge in my life

23:36
through some challenges for sure.

23:40
And so it's no walk in the park, but I just, I need to remind myself just how lucky, you

23:46
know, one of my, one of our staff members, one of our team members reminds me that I'm

23:54
the, that I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

23:57
And I, you know, whenever I get angry or like frustrated, I, you know, I really am to just

24:02
be able to to watch this happen in in our fellow humanity it's like it really gives you a positive

24:09
side of of the world like you know who would have thought who would have thought that that could

24:14
happen like if i told you if i woke up one day you know and i said hey i have this i have this idea

24:22
where we're gonna you know rent out a parking lot we usually get it for free but let's you know we're

24:26
going to rent out this parking lot and and and coordinate volunteer deliveries to 30 locations

24:32
every saturday and there's going to be kids and you know and groups of all kinds like showing up

24:38
in the morning because they want to like every week without fail like who would have even believed

24:42
that this was you know it's just like amazing that i get to witness that so witness that that is a great

24:53
sentiment notion witness that i think that we don't help people

25:03
value the witnessing of that when i i'll give you an example when this is going to seem like

25:10
a weird example there was one day i it was a saturday morning i got a call from somebody

25:15
that had an extra ticket to go see Paul McCartney.

25:19
And I was like, oh my gosh,

25:22
I want to go see Paul McCartney.

25:24
And I talked to my wife.

25:25
I'm like, I know we have plans this afternoon,

25:27
but do you think I could go to this concert

25:28
to see Paul McCartney?

25:29
Because Paul McCartney, right?

25:30
He wrote the songs.

25:32
And I went to this concert

25:34
and I was so excited to witness that.

25:37
The witness, him singing Blackbird

25:39
and telling us about,

25:40
I mean, it was just this thing that now I,

25:43
when I look back on it,

25:45
I just have these memories of this amazing evening where, you know, live and let die and the fireworks go off.

25:52
And I got to witness that, that same guy that, you know, crossed the pond and kicked off Beatlemania.

26:03
And you see the, got to witness that.

26:06
And everyone would think that, like, that is something that they would want to do.

26:11
They got a call on a Saturday to go see Paul McCartney.

26:15
They want to go witness that.

26:18
And what I love about your story is you had that same gleam in your eye when you were talking about that parking lot.

26:28
And about witnessing that, that others have when they talk about seeing someone like McCartney or whoever it is that you would want to see, that you would want to witness in your lifetime.

26:40
I remember seeing David Ortiz hit a home run once.

26:44
I got to witness that.

26:46
I just want to, I want to, I want listeners to think about this shared humanity and these

26:54
moments of deep love and community as something brilliant and worth witnessing.

27:01
And I think you're, you have that in your heart.

27:04
And I think a big part of what it would mean for things to change in the world is for us to want to witness that in the same way that you do.

27:14
Thank you for that.

27:16
And I think that, you know, I just feel lucky to be able to witness it.

27:21
But I also think that it's, you know, what makes this particular thing special is the community element of it.

27:31
And not just getting to witness it, but getting to be a part of it.

27:33
and getting to, you know, see these families show up week after week just to volunteer to, uh,

27:41
to be a part of the community, right. To, to witness, to witness again, um, you know, people,

27:49
uh, volunteering their workplaces, right. Like I just had a call with the family this morning

27:55
about um i'm actually uh on the topic of religion on uh usually when when uh when um when when

28:05
jewish adults turn 13 they have a bar mitzvah um and and often there's kind of a bar mitzvah

28:12
project that goes along with that um and and sometimes folks choose to do that project in

28:18
association with you know with grassroots grocery um and so anyway you know just just watching these

28:24
families come together to want to do things like that and then you know the person on this call

28:29
um volunteered to uh to share about the information with his workplace so that we

28:34
can get his workplace involved and just this this it's just great to uh it's easy to think that

28:42
that the world is um you know that it's a dark place but but uh but but i i get to

28:52
I get to see and be a part of all the

28:56
all the positive things.

28:58
I'd love for you to, you talked about these two

29:01
programs, and I don't think we've really had a chance to talk about

29:05
both of them in some detail. I don't know if you could

29:09
you said it was a sandwich race? Yeah, sure, I'm happy to give a quick

29:13
overview. And I think what they

29:17
all have in common is building this community of neighbors helping neighbors

29:20
are dedicated to nourishing their fellow neighbors, right?

29:26
It's kind of what's the unifying elements of these two

29:31
and building a large community around these activities.

29:35
And so the first is the Great Sandwich Race.

29:37
And that is where anyone in corporate America right now in the tri-state area,

29:43
but soon beyond.

29:44
And so if anyone listening to this is in another metropolitan area,

29:49
Don't hesitate to reach out because we will be in your area soon too.

29:54
Anyone can invite us to their conference room and we'll transform that conference room into a sandwich making hub.

30:04
And your team or sometimes clients or interns or whatever kind of works for you, you'll all race against the clock to make as many sandwiches as you can until the bread runs out.

30:18
And then we, my team gets those sandwiches delivered to, you know, we generally make, I don't know, over 2,000 sandwiches and deliver them to, you know, 15 different community partners reaching neighbors in need throughout Harlow and the Bronx.

30:36
Actually throughout every borough of Manhattan in that program.

30:39
Last year in that program, we made 150,000 sandwiches in 77 different conference rooms.

30:49
and so that's

30:51
that program we're looking at

30:53
to really pour rocket fuel on that

30:55
this year and then launch multi-city next

30:57
year and that's

30:59
only possible because of all of these amazing

31:02
volunteers

31:03
that want to do this

31:05
it's about just capitalizing

31:07
on this desire for people

31:09
that people have to do good

31:10
we make it easy

31:13
and then the other program

31:15
that we have is the produce party

31:17
and that's

31:19
we were really lucky to have been featured

31:20
on the Today Show

31:22
regarding that program at the end of the year

31:24
last year where I got

31:26
to meet Scarlett Johansson which is super cool

31:29
and

31:30
at the produce party

31:32
we

31:35
we meet in a parking

31:36
lot in

31:38
the Bronx

31:41
and in that parking lot is a truck

31:43
that's filled

31:44
with fresh produce

31:46
that's donated from wholesale produce vendors

31:51
because they weren't able to sell it for whatever reason.

31:55
And so we make that truck available

32:00
and those donations available.

32:02
And then about 200 people come together

32:05
in this parking lot every Saturday morning.

32:08
And they come together in their groups.

32:12
So their church groups and temple groups and scout troops.

32:16
and sports teams and civic associations of all kinds, you know, they all, corporate groups as

32:22
well, they all come together with people of all ages. I love it when, you know, kids come with

32:28
their parents and grandparents, right? It's really multi-generational and the activity is threefold.

32:35
We unload the truck, we store and pack the produce,

32:42
and make sure that the stuff that's not right to be consumed is donated for compost.

32:54
And then we drive out hunger, which is where we actually hop into our own vehicles.

33:01
And each vehicle the night before is matched with our grassroots grocers.

33:07
And our grassroots grocers are dedicated community leaders who are also volunteers who on the receiving end in about 30 communities throughout Harlem and the Bronx.

33:17
So imagine that this parking lot is like a hub and the cars are spokes on the hub, right?

33:23
And every delivery volunteer gets paired up with a grassroots grocer, a community leader, who then receives your carload filled with produce, empties it out, and proceeds to give it to neighbors in need throughout their own community.

33:42
And so now every Saturday across about 30 communities, we are reaching about 1,500 households with about 15,000 pounds of fresh and healthy food.

34:03
And what's cool about our growth there is that we're looking to open up a second shift by the end of the year.

34:11
So then we'll have either a morning shift and an afternoon shift or a morning shift on Saturday and another morning shift on Sunday.

34:17
We're still figuring that out. That's kind of positioned for Q4.

34:22
And then ultimately, we hope that in that process, we'll also understand a little bit more about what it will take to then scale that work to other parts of the city and ultimately other parts of the country and beyond.

34:39
So it's a really, really exciting place to be. And again, they're both kind of united around building this large community of people who are joyfully committed to uplifting their fellow neighbors through food.

34:56
It's something that's always been important to me when we talk about the word mission in my world, that there is something mutually transformative that happens when we serve others.

35:13
And because there's a poverty in each of us.

35:18
That there's a, Augustine said that we all, our hearts are restless until they find rest in God, right?

35:25
that there's a heart, there's a God shaped hole in our heart. Right.

35:29
And so there's a, there's this sense that for sometimes,

35:34
sometimes when we hear stories like this, it's like, Oh yeah,

35:37
I want to go and I want to do this thing because it's the right thing to do.

35:42
I always have thought about it.

35:43
Like I want to go and I want to do this thing because I am in need also.

35:49
And when I meet someone else in their need,

35:51
I find that the healing that I need can sometimes happen as well.

35:56
And it seems like that's a, that's a focus for you too.

35:59
I don't know if I'm putting words into your mouth and it's okay if I'm,

36:01
if I am just push back.

36:03
No, no, I, I, I think that you're right to, yeah.

36:10
I mean, it's, it's,

36:11
it's just as much about the person doing the volunteering as it is about the

36:18
person receiving the food.

36:21
and that's very intentional for us.

36:25
I mean, to me, these are also, you know, beneficiaries of our work, right?

36:32
It's just, it's all the volunteers.

36:35
It's a big piece of the work that we do because of the transformations

36:39
that they're undergoing by being a part of this community.

36:43
And so, yeah, I think that that's actually one of the biggest, you know,

36:48
if you were to compare us to like a food pantry or like a, you know,

36:52
like meal delivery service or something like that, like,

36:54
like those are framed in very kind of functional ways of like, you know,

37:02
bringing food, like it's really about the food assistance.

37:07
And I think that they were really focused on this dual pronged mission of,

37:13
yes, it's food

37:15
and it's the crisis

37:17
of food insecurity

37:20
but then it's also

37:22
this kind of

37:23
crisis of

37:25
crisis of community

37:28
and it's that two-pronged

37:30
approach

37:31
that I think really

37:33
gives grassroots groceries power.

37:35
It's the

37:37
transactional versus transformational

37:39
approach. Sure. That's the way to put it

37:41
I know that in this series, look for the helpers, people are going to inspire me.

37:49
But I see what you're doing in a whole new light today.

37:55
Which I am grateful for.

37:56
We're talking about service.

37:58
We're talking about dignity through community.

38:01
Yes.

38:02
I think there's so much to be learned by other nonprofits on the longevity of supplying dignity through what they offer versus anything else.

38:19
And I think your supplying dignity through community is a huge deal.

38:26
having been a new yorker i have seen people without their dignity as i would judge it

38:36
um and it's not fun to witness it's not fun to talk to them about it but i think what you're

38:44
doing is you're making what isn't fun fun with the sandwich races and the produce party

38:52
and I think there's so much hope

38:54
at the other end of that fund

38:55
there's so much dignity

38:57
and there's so much community

38:59
I think all non-profits

39:02
should have their pen and paper

39:04
out right now and be listening to what

39:06
we're talking about

39:07
and I think that's fantastic

39:10
I don't mean to shower you with compliments

39:12
I appreciate it

39:13
I didn't sort of bring you on today to

39:16
shower you with compliments but it's becoming

39:18
clear that there's

39:20
So we have, there's a winning formula here.

39:23
And, you know, with, you know, you have 31 plus distribution sites.

39:32
On Saturday, yeah.

39:33
Yeah, that's a lot for New York City.

39:39
1,400 plus average families.

39:41
and this is all on your website

39:43
reached

39:45
85,000

39:46
850,000

39:48
pounds of fresh produce rescued

39:50
is that so far?

39:52
That's actually outdated now

39:56
we've rescued

39:57
millions of pounds of produce since the beginning

39:59
so I need to go on and update our

40:01
Squarespace

40:03
for sure

40:05
but

40:07
the cool thing about

40:10
the

40:11
The produce party is also the way that it can scale because it's very asset light.

40:20
We are in a parking lot and the real labor is the labor of love from our volunteers.

40:29
And on the distribution side, it's the labor of love from our grassroots grocers, our community partners, who are also volunteers themselves.

40:39
and who are with teams of volunteers giving out produce to their own community.

40:43
And so, yeah, for sure.

40:46
That's wonderful.

40:47
One of the things that I have to ask towards the end,

40:52
because we just got a sense of what happens if your organization disappears,

41:00
all those people aren't helped,

41:03
that sense of community and dignity through community kind of goes away.

41:08
What do you need right now sitting here that listeners can say, I can jump in and donate.

41:15
I can jump in and volunteer my car and drive up there.

41:19
Yeah.

41:19
Like, what is it you need today that would make your mission, your organization run just a little bit better?

41:27
Thank you for that question.

41:30
I think that ultimately the best way to get involved is to become a part of this movement of neighbors helping neighbors.

41:41
And that looks different depending on where you live.

41:44
And so if you are in the tri-state area, definitely come out.

41:49
Or if you find your way to New York, definitely come out to a produce party on a Saturday.

41:54
and know that your whole family is welcome from the youngest in your family to the oldest.

41:59
That's something really important to us to cast a wide net in terms of age,

42:03
because, you know, even the littlest and youngest hands can be a part of this.

42:10
You know, they can sort okra too.

42:14
And then if no matter where you are, you can definitely donate for sure.

42:22
Financial contributions are an important part of our work.

42:27
And in fact, we're almost, you know, we're 90% funded by individuals and by corporations.

42:35
And so, you know, to help us scale this work and to bring it to wherever you are listening and to continue to grow this approach, we'd love financial support if it's something that you have that's available to you.

42:49
And then finally, I think that maybe the easiest way to get involved is to get your company involved.

42:59
And so I know a lot of people these days either know someone who works in a big company or works in a big company themselves.

43:09
And many companies have offices in other parts of the country.

43:15
And so if anyone here is, you know, listening to this, who's going to, you know, ultimately be sitting at a desk today in corporate America,

43:25
or if you have a friend or parent or, you know, someone in your life who's in corporate America,

43:35
we love growing the Great Sandwich Race

43:39
because it's just such a great way

43:42
to bring corporate America

43:46
along this transformational journey.

43:52
And so we would love for you

43:53
to refer your company to us.

43:56
And you can find me by...

44:00
You can follow me on LinkedIn.

44:04
and you can also email me

44:06
I'm just dan

44:08
at grassrootsgrocery.org

44:10
you can follow us on Instagram

44:12
stay in touch

44:12
we're grassrootsgrocery.my

44:16
you know yeah

44:16
just know that

44:18
I think that's also

44:19
like go out of here

44:21
knowing that

44:23
you don't have to be a

44:26
you don't have to dedicate

44:27
your whole life

44:29
to these issues

44:31
that are vexing our society

44:34
in order to be a really important

44:41
and beautiful part of the solution.

44:45
And know that those efforts are going to bring you a lot of joy.

44:50
So I encourage you to, anyone who's listening, to find joy

44:57
in their work and in helping others.

45:03
And that will give you a lot of fuel to continue on your journey.

45:35
Bye.