Our Mission
We are a St. Louis grassroots organization whose mission is to uplift and empower our neighborhoods through healthy food, human connection, and compassionate advocacy.
To build a shared and beloved community.
To care in a whole and human way.
To show up and stand up for what is right.
To stir up hope in every circumstance.
Our Vision
We envision a community in which all people are healthy, whole, thriving, and loving each other fully and unconditionally.
Our Values
Humanity First, Hope despite Circumstances, Love in Action, Justice in Impact
We consider and tend to people’s humanity first. We hold ourselves and each other responsible for making sure everyone we reach is seen and treated as a whole person.
We tend to put the person before the problem.
We center and advocate for each individual’s need for nourishment, rest, safety, support, acknowledgement, love, respect, and dignity in every interaction and policy. We recognize that if we are causing someone to go hungry, sleepless; to feel isolated, unsafe, unheard, unseen, or disrespected, we have already failed.
We center and celebrate marginalized identities and classes. We welcome all faiths and make space for each individual’s religious and spiritual paths. We do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, class, religion, or sexuality.
We listen actively and compassionately to one another with the intent to understand, not to respond. We create intentional and gracious spaces for people to share their experiences, feedback, and ideas without interruption. We take the time to understand why people act or think the way they do, especially when we are frustrated with them. We do not jump to conclusions, but ask questions instead. The only thing we assume is that there is something we don’t know yet.
We strive to see and stir up hope despite the circumstances. We help each other believe in a better future and conceive of what it looks like. We approach every problem with optimism, innovation, and enthusiasm.
We return to the source of people’s genuine hope and joy. We lead people to remember who they are and what they love about being in the world. We do not offer empty platitudes or passive aggression, but care and communicate authentically.
We offer connection. No matter how small, we provide everyone a way to participate in and contribute to the community; to be and feel a part of something bigger; to meet others who will make them feel less alone.
We are innovative optimists. We focus our discussions around solutions more than complaints and worries. We believe there are multiple ways to solve every problem We pursue new ideas and strategies to find them. We expect to make mistakes and learn from them cheerfully.
We demonstrate consistent, unconditional, and abundant love in our actions towards others. We choose to do and say what is honest, compassionate, and patient--even when, and especially when, it is difficult. We work to build trust and hold each other and ourselves accountable.
Love is family. We see all human beings as part of an interconnected, beloved family, obligated to care for each other in the ways we are best suited. We are not afraid to ask each other for help and accept whatever they are able to offer. When others ask for help, we come through in the ways we can.
Love is honesty. We are upfront about how we feel without putting others down. We do not say anything about a colleague we would not say to them in person. We communicate our needs and expectations clearly and do not get angry at others’ failures to fulfill expectations we never clearly set.
Love is consistency. We understand that loving actions mean nothing if they are not consistently practiced. We do not forget about or give up on commitments we have made, stated or implied. We only commit to projects we know we can sustain with meaningful quality.
We work to see real justice realized in our impact. We are intentional and vigilant about seeing marginalized people free and thriving in lasting ways.
We make a real difference. We measure our success on concrete improvements in the lives of our community and not on arbitrary benchmarks.
We center young, black, local leadership in meaningful and visible ways. We systematically include their voices in our decision making processes. We actively and consistently seek them out and form lasting, equitable relationships with them based on love and respect.
We speak out against injustice in every form, even when it does not directly affect us. We stand in solidarity with other movements for justice and do what we can to enable their work. We do not compete with or undermine other organizations that share and display our values.