another kind of march madness
Hi friends,
I don’t know what it is about March, but the change of seasons seems to push the world into challenging new spaces, from this year’s financial crash to last year’s Russian invasion, and let’s not forget the March 2020 intro to pandemic lockdowns.
And this month brought it all - bank failures, a toxic train derailment, mass shootings and a new wave of legislation against public drag performances. Just a few days ago, I found myself a mile from the Covenant School shooting in Nashville when it happened. I will never forget what it was like to sit with community members anxiously waiting to find out if they knew the families affected. It left me thinking – where do we go from here?
I can’t shake the feeling that it’s time across the board for something new.
But how do we make progress when it feels like we are operating under a microscope? It’s hard to know where to start when ESG goals are being linked to financial risk, and performative activism is more prevalent than ever.
A healthy dose of optimism and innovation is truly what we need to produce solutions, but lately it feels like the optimism that used to fuel America has turned into a paralyzing distrust of the process.
As we enter into the warmer months and the newness of the season, we must take notice of what isn’t working - - and also shift our focus to the potential that Spring brings, a season of rebirth and possibility, to do things differently.
We may have moved our clocks forward, but we need to move much more; and it starts with a new approach to finding solutions that work.
New ideas, innovation, and deeper connection to the communities we serve is more needed than ever.
Natalie
what the FRIDAY!
Speaking of systems that seriously need to change – the US is on the edge of what experts are calling a ‘Hunger Cliff’ and you guessed it, it’s likely to push millions of people into - or back into - poverty. So why is this happening?
A horribly timed combination of inflation, grocery price hikes, rising cost of living and expiring pandemic-era economic relief is about to hit the American food system hard. The headlines? Food prices are rising – 10% more expensive than last year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and now there is less aid available to those who need it most. Money that would have otherwise gone to rent or bills will now be pushed toward food, kicking off a cycle of poverty that has the potential to trap millions of low-income Americans very quickly.
The graph below shows 4 states whose SNAP food benefits from the pandemic have now expired and the hungry reality they face:
And this is only a small part of what needs to change about the food system. As the head of Food Tank and dear friend, Danielle Nierenberg says, “The United States deserves—and desperately needs—a Food Bill of Rights …When we fail to understand the true scope of our food chains; the costs to Americans’ health, our environment, and our family farms and ranches are astronomical. “
On the farming side, did you know that currently just six crops - corn, rice, wheat, soy, cotton, and peanuts - receive 94% of all federal subsidies, and more than half of these payments—totaling $4.64 billion—go to just eight states? If we redistributed these funds to include small and mid-size family farms that are the real backbone of our food system, we could change the way our nation experiences and accesses food.
Every five years, U.S. Congress debates The Farm Bill, a piece of legislation that is central to our economy and yet it is something that most people have never heard of. But what we really need is a new approach to food policy that brings all actors across the food system to the table.
The good news is that just this week, new legislation The Food and Farm Act was introduced that would replace the complex, expensive and outdated Farm Bill. For the first time, we have a bill that is taking a holistic approach to the food system with measures that prioritize widespread access to nutritious food, support local farmers, reduce food waste, consider animal welfare and environment, and most importantly, encourage innovation for more comprehensive food system solutions.
Senator Blumenaur who introduced it says “Americans deserve a better food policy…Our current system pays too much to the wrong people to grow the wrong foods in the wrong places.”
By focusing on local food networks and small farmers, we make healthy, fresh foods more available and shift away from the influx of highly processed, unhealthy foods.
The Food and Farm Act will:
Cut, cap, and clarify existing farm subsidies
Expand existing conservation programs and invest in sustainable agriculture
Increase the reach and efficacy of food assistance programs and access to healthy food in food deserts and other underserved areas
Provide resources to beginning, retiring, and underserved farmers
Support vibrant local and regional food systems
Establish a Food Waste Title to better prioritize food waste reduction
Ensure that federal dollars support the humane treatment of animals
Food systems impact our health, our environment, our security, our resiliency, our education and our social systems. Food is something that touches all of our lives, and it’s time that we prioritize the people and planet.
more blank space
How do we even begin to approach such a multi-faceted issue? Working on impact strategy for brands, foundations and thought leaders, we’ve spent countless days figuring out how to balance larger-than-life ideas against realistic goals, timelines and communications.
This year for SXSW we worked with Kroger’s Zero Waste Foundation to design the Future of Food program track, where we dove into all facets of the food system to explore what’s working, and more importantly…what’s not.
One of the most popular conversations I moderated analyzed these very issues. The panel called Businesses Doing More Than Greenwishing – involved a lively discussion between Google, Kroger, Driscolls and Journey Foods about the complex process of setting ESG goals, getting buy-in, and measuring impact in a large corporation.
If you are not familiar, you aren’t alone.
Greenwishing refers to companies that set audacious long-term goals - like DEI objectives and net zero commitments- with no clear plan for how to achieve them. Announcements often show up without budgets, milestones or metrics; and behind the scenes there is usually a complex network of stakeholders who are ready to criticize rather than collaborate along the way.
This is different from Greenwashing, which shows up as a marketing campaign that pulls at heart strings around an issue and creates an aura of caring, but with no real intention of doing anything.
The most authentic way to get involved is to DO first and SAY later.
But don’t just take it from us – as Emily Ma, Head of Google Food shared -
‘Greenwishing is the opposite of good goal-setting for me. People want us to set ambitious goals… but we truly don’t want to be just wishing for something to happen. We want to be actually making it happen… Google tends to be very quiet about what we are doing until we are almost done.’
Watch the session here - Businesses Doing More Than Greenwishing