Non-Profit Grassroots Alliance Partners with Dr. Bronner’s and Leading Natural Food Companies to Run Hurricane Irma Relief Kitchen in Immokalee Florida
Partnership of Volunteers, Activists, and Brands including Amy’s, Clif Bar, Dr. Bronner’s, Organic Valley, Patagonia, and Stonyfield Serving 6,000 Meals Per Day
September 25, 2017
IMMOKALEE, FL – Grassroots Alliance, a national non-profit organization committed to supporting communities in crisis has launched a disaster relief effort in Immokalee, Florida to provide food, water, and other basic services to disadvantaged communities most impacted by Hurricane Irma. The Grassroots Alliance, a collective effort of activists involved in communities associated with Burning Man and other festivals has started a disaster relief kitchen called the Grassroots Alliance Cafe with the goal of providing free meals. The effort started on September 21, 2017.
“We have set up the Grassroots Alliance Cafe in Immokalee, an area that has been heavily impacted by Hurricane Irma and is a majority migrant community that is often over looked by state and federal government support,” says Justin Baker, Executive Director of Grassroots Alliance. “Our mission is to serve as many as 6,000 high quality meals per day and provide water, and other basic services. We welcome volunteers and donations of food and other supplies.”
The Grassroots Alliance has partnered with leading natural food brands and other companies to provide food donations, as well as financial and material support to run their relief efforts. The project has been made possible by the coming together of activists, businesses, and local community groups who have laid the groundwork for the outpouring of support to have a direct impact on the ground.
“The Immokalee community is glad to have the Grassroots Alliance Cafe and volunteers come to support our hardworking community of farmworkers in the wake of Hurricane Irma,” says Santiago Perez, member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. “The outpouring of solidarity that we have felt here in the past couple of weeks shows that Immokalee and the farmworkers who harvest this country’s crops are not alone and not forgotten. The delicious food and direct assistance is greatly appreciated and we look forward to building deep and lasting ties between our communities.”
Companies supporting the relief effort include Amy’s Kitchen, Clif Bar, Dr. Bronner’s, Organic Valley, Patagonia, Pacific Domes, Stonyfield, and other brands.
“Dr. Bronner’s is proud to support this important effort by the Grassroots Alliance,” says David Bronner, CEO of top-selling natural brand of soap, Dr. Bronner’s. “We have upgraded a 48’ kitchen trailer, procured equipment, and are financing key staff on the ground to set up and manage the operation while coordinating with local community organizers and volunteers. In times of crisis, it’s awesome to see our partners in this effort step up and put progressive values into action. And they are also donating to relief efforts in Houston and Mexico, as is Dr. Bronner’s. This effort truly embodies the “All-One” spirit and message of my granddad’s vision.”
Among the other natural product industry leaders that have joined Dr. Bronner’s in supporting this relief effort is family owned Amy’s Kitchen, which has donated 150,000 cans of soup. Organic Valley is also closely involved, with key staff helping to coordinate efforts on the ground, in addition to donating substantial quantities of food to the effort. Patagonia has donated over 10,000 servings of their Patagonia Provisions line of dehydrated organic soups and cereals, while Clif Bar has contributed 10,000 bars to supply the kitchen. Other brands and organizations continue to sign on in support of this effort as well.
“Grassroots Alliance’s vision in working with partners like Burners Without Borders and Dr. Bronner’s is to leverage assets and volunteers in the Burning Man community and natural products industry, to deploy a quick and turnkey response in the form of a disaster relief kitchen, not just for this but for future disasters and moments of crisis,” says Matt Atwood, co-founder of the Grassroots Alliance. “This is our first major effort and we will be learning and building from here in order to better serve communities in need.”
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Grassroots Alliance was co-founded by Matt Atwood, Justin Baker, and others. Baker is also the founder of Conscious Alliance. Since its formation in 2002, Conscious Alliance has provided more than two million meals to impoverished communities across the US. In 2005, Conscious Alliance teamed up with New Waveland Cafe to distribute thousands of meals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was this experience that laid the groundwork for Grassroots Alliance’s involvement in disaster relief. Grassroots Alliance aims to not only feed the needy in the local community on a day-to-day basis but to have a fully mobile disaster relief unit that will be able to provide meals for those in communities that have been struck by catastrophe.
For more on information on Grassroots Alliance, please visit: https://www.grassrootsalliance.org.
Dr. Bronner’s is a family business committed to honoring the vision of founder Emanuel Bronner by making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality, and by dedicating profits to help make a better world. Dr. Bronner’s commitment to social justice, environmental sustainability and progressive business practices is part of the company’s mission to put into practice the principles that inform the philosophy printed on the company’s iconic soap labels written by founder Emanuel Bronner. The company is the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America and widely renowned around the world. Based on 2015 sales, a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold, on average, every 3 seconds throughout the year.
For more information on Dr. Bronner’s, please visit: https://info.drbronner.com.