"To All The Foods I've Loved Before"
Last updated June 30th, 2020:
After two inspiring months, the "To All the Foods I've Loved Before" Fundraiser has drawn to a close. Spread across 15 organizations, the contributions of participants raised over $1700 in total giving! Thank you to everyone who participated and generously gave during this financially-straining time, and for trusting me to draw some of your most coveted and dearly missed quarantine food cravings.
The "To All the Foods I've Loved Before" project started as a fun opportunity to draw all the take-out treasures I had taken for granted that couldn't be, or were hard to replicate, at home due to COVID-19. It also provided a platform to talk about some of my favorite restaurants or foods that have been affected or become less accessible since the start of COVID-19, and drop a few facts about less-common foods that may be unfamiliar to some.
While drawing these foods served as a fun personal project, I reminded myself that eating these foods, and to even have any food on the table each day at all, is a HUGE privilege. Now more than ever, many people around the world are wondering when their next meal may be or whether they can feed their family through the week. It is so important to support each other and, if you can spare some extra cash, pass it on to those in need. For this reason I decided to start the To All the Foods I’ve Loved Before Fundraiser, a COVID-19 fundraiser.
The guidelines:
1) Make a donation (of ANY amount) to a business at risk or an organization supporting those at-risk during this time (healthcare workers, essential workers, the arts, hospitality industry, victims of abuse, climate change, etc). Bonus points if it’s a business or an organization that is local/helps those who are local to you currently.
2) DM/email me a clear screenshot of your donation receipt. Along with your screenshot, please also send me a drawing request of a food or meal you have been missing due to COVID-19 and a sentence on why you chose it. Then I get to draw it! Thank you for sharing your food with me!
3) Once the drawing of your request is complete, I will post the drawing on Instagram/Facebook and tag your name so you’ll be notified (unless you would like to remain anonymous). I will also send you a scanned jpeg of the drawing after posting.
In addition to all personal donations, I matched all cumulative donations up to $200 for the Berkshire Food Project, a local nonprofit working to alleviate hunger and food insecurity by providing healthy, no-cost meals to the northern Berkshires. Match was met and fulfilled as of May 17th, 2020!
This page serves not only as a virtual gallery of all food drawing requests, but to also show a record of organizations that have benefited from this project and a list of others still in need (below).
Organizations benefiteD:
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank - providing meals to the Blue Ridge area
Common Folk Artist Collective - North Adams-based artist collective
Berkshire Food Project - serving healthy, no cost meals to the northern Berkshires. Five donors have given to this organization!
NDN Collective - supports and protects the justice and equity of Indigenous peoples.
Ascend - the largest nonprofit Pan-Asian organization for business professionals in North America
Berkshire Immigrant Center - assist individuals and families in making the economic, psychological and cultural adjustment to a new land.
Berkshire Humane Society - ensures the compassionate care, treatment and placement of companion animals, while promoting and improving the welfare of all animals through education and outreach.
Minnesota Freedom Fund - nonprofit that combats the harms of incarceration by paying bail for low-income individuals who cannot otherwise afford it. Three donors have given to this organization!
Black Lives Matter - fights to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art - largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the Northeast.
Black Visions Collective - organization working to shape a political home for Black people in Minnesota through healing and transformative justice principles, and develop Minnesota's emerging Black leadership for long term success and transformation.
Multicultural Bridge - Berkshire-based grassroots organization dedicated to catalyzing change and integration through promoting mutual respect and understanding.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Close to Home: Experience Art in Nature Fundraiser - with art museums and galleries closed due to COVID-19, Close to Home offers artists to display short-term art exhibits in green spaces that--in a safe and socially-distant way--recognizes the human hand in the act of creating art.
The Trevor Project - crisis intervention & suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth.
Suggested OrganizationS in need:
Black Lives Matter - fights to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
I Run with Maud GoFundMe - fundraiser organized by close friend of Ahmaud Aubery, Akeem Baker, to assist the immediate family of Ahmaud Arbery and support the fight towards racial injustice.
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund GoFundMe - fundraiser to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist George Floyd's family members.
Justice for Brionna Taylor GoFundMe - fundraiser to assist the family of Brionna Taylor.
Know Your Rights Camp - work to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders.
The Movement for Black Lives - ecosystem of individuals and organizations creating a shared vision and policy agenda to win rights, recognition, and resources for Black people. In doing so, the movement makes it possible for us, and therefore everyone, to live healthy and fruitful lives.
The UndocuBlack Network - multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources, and contributes to transforming the realities of our people, so we are thriving and living our fullest lives.
Communities Against Police Brutality - volunteer organization working to assistance individuals and families dealing with the effects of police brutality and provide educational programs to inform the community about police brutality and justice system issues.
Homeless Black Trans Women Fund GoFundMe - fundraiser for the community of homeless, Black Trans women and sex workers in Atlanta.
The Okra Project - The Okra Project pays Black Trans chefs to go into the homes of Black Trans people to cook them a healthy and home-cooked meal at absolutely no cost.
Color of Change - nation’s largest online racial justice organization.
National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) - created as a non-profit to protect the human and civil rights of individuals in their encounters with law enforcement and detention facility personnel. The central mission of NPAP is to promote the accountability of law enforcement officers and their employers for violations of the Constitution and the laws of the United States.
Center for Policing Equity - collects data and helps law enforcement agencies identify ways to improve their relationship with the communities they serve.
Food Bank of Western Massachusetts - member of Feeding America
Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund - providing microgrants to independent food and beverage businesses in need.
World Central Kitchen - providing meals in the wake of natural disasters.
The Hunger Project - working to sustainably end world hunger.
Feeding America - National organization working to alleviate food insecurity.
Appalachia Service Project - building warmer, safer, dryer spaces for those in need.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - provide understanding and prevention of suicide.
Planned Parenthood - provides reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide.