Add Passion and Stir

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Sharif El-Mekki on the Power of Black Educators Feb 02, 2022

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Sharif El-Mekki is the founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, which is focused on revolutionizing education by dramatically increasing the number of Black educators. “People are naive enough to think that once you enter a school, racial bias disappears,” says El-Mekki. “If a Black child has a Black teacher, they have a higher sense of belonging, they’re less likely to be suspended or expelled. They have more access to rigorous courses, higher attendance, better grades.”

El-Mekki sees the work as a form of activism. “Educational justice and racial justice are connected and cannot be separated,” he stresses. Join us to learn more about a truly different approach to equity in the classroom and beyond.

This episode is part of Add Passion and Stir’s ongoing series Rebuilding which connects with leaders from across media, restaurants, education, government, and beyond to learn they’re reimagining and redesigning their industries to make sure everyone feels a sense of belonging.

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Mayors Across the US Unite to End Childhood Hunger Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Cities are on the frontlines of responding to the short and long-term impacts of hunger in their communities and mayors have witnessed firsthand the hardship their constituents face. On this episode of Add Passion and Stir, we speak with two mayors leading the fight against child hunger. Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia and Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona are the inaugural Chair and Vice Chair of the new Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger. The Alliance is a nonpartisan coalition of more than 50 mayors working in partnership with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger.

Members of the Alliance will engage in collective advocacy to address child hunger at state and federal levels. Mayors Stoney and Giles have a lot of hope about what this group can do to transcend partisan politics.

“I think sometimes people try to define an issue like childhood hunger as a political issue between Democrats and Republicans. When you're in this role as mayor, you find out that this is about humanity and how we treat our children and our families with dignity,” says Mayor Stoney.

“The biggest tool that I have in my toolbox is the ability to convene… mayors are in a uniquely powerful position to connect the needs of the community with the resources of the community,” Mayor Giles remarks.

Join us to learn more about their current efforts and ideas for the future.

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First Lady of Wyoming Jennie Gordon on Ending Hunger in Wyoming Jan 12, 2022

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With just over 580,000 residents, Wyoming is a state where “when you meet someone, it really is about one or two degrees of separation before you are starting to find common friends,” says First Lady of Wyoming, Jennie Gordon. That connectedness makes the knowledge that 1 in 5 children in Wyoming suffer from food insecurity even more personal to the First Lady and the people of Wyoming.

As First Lady, Gordon has made food insecurity a core initiative and launched the Wyoming Hunger Initiative in 2019. The initiative is working with existing organizations in the state to end childhood hunger and food insecurity in Wyoming: “Almost every community had a food pantry…but what they needed was awareness. I wanted to work on raising awareness and finding a Wyoming solution to the [food insecurity] challenges we face in the state,” says Gordon.

In this episode of Add Passion and Stir, Gordon shares how her parents' experience with food insecurity – her mother grew up in Vienna, Austria during WWII and her father grew up during the depression in a family with 10 children – inspired her commitment to end hunger. She also discusses how programs like “Grow a Little Extra” and “Food from the Field” offer opportunities for the people of Wyoming to share their strength by planting additional crops in their home gardens or streamlining the donation process for game and meat. “In our first year [of Grow a Little Extra], we had over 10,000 lbs. of produce that was donated throughout the state.”

Join us for this conversation about building pathways for neighbors to support neighbors.

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Arianna Huffington and Claudia Fleming on De-stressing Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Add Passion and Stir from early 2019, Thrive Global Founder and CEO Arianna Huffington and renowned pastry chef and North Fork Table and Inn owner Claudia Fleming discuss a topic very relevant today: the effects of stress and exhaustion on creativity, productivity and health. “For all of us, what moves the needle, whether it’s in a non-profit or for-profit business, are creative ideas. They are the first to be sacrificed when we are exhausted… If your life is just about productivity and there is no joy, there is something wrong,” explains Huffington. Fleming uses her influence as a chef to effect change. “Food is politics. You can’t get away from the fact that agribusiness runs a good portion of our government. I think there’s no greater way to effect change than by bringing people together. As chefs, we do that,” she explains.

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Minneapolis Chef Ann Kim on Leading with Love Dec 15, 2021

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In this conversation from October, 2020, James Beard award-winning Minneapolis chef Ann Kim discusses her immigrant experience, approach to food, and observations about her community in the wake of the George Floyd murder. “It is our job to make changes, educate and learn. We can’t make decisions rooted in fear,” she says.

“People scream when they feel like they’re not being heard. I was trying to listen and I wasn’t quite sure how I was to react, except that I wanted to support the black community,” explains Kim.

Kim talks about her support of the SNAP (food stamps) expansion, drawing on her own family’s experience with government assistance programs. “Keeping kids fed… If we can’t do that, what can we do?,” she says.

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Rachel Sumekh on Swiping Out Hunger on College Campuses Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

Rachel Sumekh, Founder & CEO of Swipe Out Hunger, discusses hunger on Swipe Out Hunger campuses and the value of activism. “One in three college students in the US today is food insecure. We pitch education and we pitch going to college as a pathway to get out of poverty, and yet our students get there and we cannot deliver on that promise,” says Sumekh.

Swipe Out Hunger is the leading nonprofit addressing hunger among college students with a range of anti-hunger programs in more than 140 colleges. Their flagship program, ‘The Swipe Drive,’ enables students to donate meals to their peers facing food insecurity on campus. “How we define the work really matters… If we see our work as a greater vision of building a world where everyone who wants to get an education has food in their stomachs and has an educational experience that makes them feel welcome and whole and complete… we build a different world.”

Sumekh, who founded the organization with her friends as a college student, encourages listeners to get involved with issues important to them. “This is such an incredible time in our country's history to be an activist, so follow that spark, even if no one in your family understands what that means,” she advises.

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Visions of the Future: What Kids Want to See After the Pandemic Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

As we continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, No Kid Hungry is telling the stories of what children faced during the crisis - and the incredible people working to feed them. Working with local artists in cities across the country, NKH’s Rebuilding campaign created a series of five micro-documentaries and murals in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, and Washington, D.C. to showcase the stories of local children’s thoughts and feelings about life during the pandemic and their hopes for the future into public works of art.

In this episode of “Add Passion and Stir,” host Billy Shore and Share Our Strength’s CMO, Pamela Taylor connect with Désirée Kelly, the artist that created the Rebuilding mural featured in Detroit, MI. Kelly, a Detroit-native known for her distinctive style of storytelling through portraits with a mixture of “street art” & traditional oil technique, describes the experience of sharing her community's story: “It meant so much to me being a Detroiter and representing the community...to finally have the voice to be able to speak for everyone visually.” Giving “voice” to the stories of those acutely impacted by COVID was an important consideration for the campaign. Taylor noted that NKH worked exclusively with artists of color to share the story of Black and Brown communities, “We wanted to uplift those that we knew had faced challenges in ways that had been exacerbated. Identifying artists of color to talk with the children and to hear their stories and who were part of their community...to have that connection was so important to us.”

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Charlotte Moss and Darren Walker on Home, Dignity, and Ending Child Hunger Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Interior designer and philanthropist Charlotte Moss and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker discuss the importance of ending child hunger. Moss selected No Kid Hungry to be the beneficiary of her latest project, Home: A Celebration . Home is an ode to Edith Wharton’s The Book of the Homeless, which was a 1916 fundraiser to help refugees and children during WWI. Home features 120 artists, poets, chefs, designers, photographers, and writers offering personal reflections on the essence of home. Contributors include Drew Barrymore, Candice Bergen, Tory Burch, Seth Godin, Renee and John Grisham, Bianca Jagger, Annie Leibovitz, Jon Meacham, Bette Midler, Joyce Carol Oates, Al Roker, Gloria Steinem, Darren Walker, and Fanny and Alice Waters.

“This is really philanthropy at its best, when people come together to for single cause and give of themselves - in essence sharing their strength - is what you're all about and what this book is all about,” says Moss. Walker was compelled to write the book’s foreword. “It was a moment when we were all experiencing deep anguish in this country over the impacts of COVID which we immediately recognized as compounding the already deep inequality we have in this country… Charlotte used her privilege to raise awareness and consciousness of the conditions of poverty, particularly child poverty, which is the most difficult and pernicious poverty that we have in this country… Charlotte reminded us that there are far too many Americans who live without the dignity of shelter, of food, of nutrition, and particularly the most vulnerable among us, our children,” he says.

All royalties from book sales support No Kid Hungry’s essential mission to help end childhood hunger.

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Jim Wallis on Crossing Faith’s Boundaries To End Child Poverty Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

Reverend Jim Wallis, Chair in Faith and Justice at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Founder of Sojourners, reports on how dozens of faith organizations continue to advocate together for making the Child Tax Credit permanent, among other provisions in the proposed Build Back Better legislation. “We came together across many of our theological and political boundaries in the faith community to support the Child Tax Credit and the other critical factors in this human infrastructure bill.”

Wallis and his fellow faith leaders are fighting for the most vulnerable Americans. “Unfortunately, it continues to be true that when the government wants to tighten its belt, it tightens the belt around the necks of the poor. And when they want to be fiscally responsible, they do it on the backs of the lowest income families and children. And that’s just not wrong. That's sinful… The Bible says that kings and rulers - those who rule - will be defined and will be judged by how they treat the poor and vulnerable.”

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Seizing the Opportunity to Reduce Child Poverty Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

For nearly 25 years, the Child Tax Credit has helped eligible American families with the cost of raising children. In 2021, the American Rescue Plan included significant changes to the credit: the amount per child was increased, 26 million more children were made eligible for the benefit, and the credit became a monthly cash payment as opposed to an annual lump sum. The impact of these changes are profound with experts saying that childhood poverty could be cut in half.

In this final episode of Add Passion and Stir’s Child Tax Credit series, we explore the impact the credit is having on families and it's role in reducing child poverty in America. Share Our Strength’s Billy Shore speaks with Kim Ford, CEO of Washington, DC-based Martha’s Table and Cailyn Thomas, Family Engagement Specialist at Martha’s Table. For Kim, the power of the credit’s direct monthly cash payments: “It’s very different when you respect someone to the point where you say, ‘this is your money and you make your own decision with it.’” We also hear from Sam Daley-Harris, an activist and founder of the international citizens’ lobby RESULTS, about the role everyone has in advocating for an extension of the credit. As Sam describes it, “Transformational advocacy is where the advocate grows and sees themselves in a new light, sees themselves in a way they never imagined possible, sees themselves as a community leader.”

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