We write this with heavy hearts from the weight of recent events (too many to list here sadly, but a few being the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop) which shine a light on the terrible truths and deep roots of racism in our county.
We want to make sure it is very clear where we stand on the topic.
Racism is insidious and toxic. We are devastated by the fact that people are being killed in our country because of the color of their skin. We are equally devastated that these outward shows of hate are the tip of an iceberg of daily, repetitive, small and large inequalities and trauma against people of color that come from multiple systems that we are a part of and which benefit us as white women (American society and the medical community to name a few) and which slowly chip away at the health and wellness of every black American and all people of color. All of it is painful and unacceptable.
We also know our platform—feeding kids—is about SO much more than food. To us it is about love and connection and health for ALL kids, which means we have an obligation to speak out when certain kids are at particular risk of poor health because of these systems that we are a part of. We acknowledge that to remain quiet when we see injustice is to be part of the problem.
We also know we are NOT experts in this and so we will turn to experts to teach us and work to amplify their voices on this topic and throughout our work wherever it applies, especially this week and ongoing. Our goal is to stay true to our mission of helping families connect through mealtime while focusing in this week on racism and the ongoing work we must do with our children so that they are protected against the harms of racism and so they do not perpetuate it.