At the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, people experiencing hunger and food insecurity are the focus of our mission to feed our neighbors in need and lead the community to end hunger. We envision a Western Massachusetts where no one faces food insecurity and everyone has access to nutritious food.

We understand and continue to learn about the existence of systemic racism, class, and gender discrimination, as well as other injustices that contribute to the existence and perpetuation of hunger, food insecurity, and its many underlying causes.

We confront these injustices in ways that are consistent with our mission by developing solutions to hunger and food insecurity that are community-driven, honoring a diversity of needs and perspectives through active listening and community partnership.

Objectives:

• Ensure equity in our service delivery
• Define strategy, reach decisions, and allocate resources with active involvement of people with lived experience
• Collaborate especially with disenfranchised communities in our work and decision making
• Advance continuous improvement internally and externally, responding where bias, prejudices, and inequities appear
• Uphold a diverse board of directors and workforce through proactive recruitment and retention
• Deepen continuously our organizational culture of inclusion through:
  • Professional development, listening, and learning
  • Valuing different work and learning styles
  • Multi-lingual communication

Approved 1/12/22