Our speaker this week was Gabe Zoerheide, Executive Director.  He was born in the Upper Valley.  He lives on a Dairy farm in Vermont.  He has worked as Director for Programs at Vital Communities. He  spent a couple of years as the executive director for Cohase Chamber of Commerce before accepting his position at Willing Hands. 

He provided a broad overview of Willing Hands. Willing Hands has a 20+ year history of serving the Upper Valley.  The organization is focused on elevating food insecurity. The goal is to get fresh perishable foods for those in need. 

He acknowledged Phil Bush who for a time was their bookkeeper, and Bill Chabot who is a volunteer. 

Some of the following information is from Gabe’s talk and some is from the Willing Hands website: https://willinghands.org/

Food insecurity continues to rise in the Upper Valley. It is now higher than during the pandemic. Listen reports a 25% increase in those accessing their food pantries. Inflation and SNAP cuts have impacted many. Most desired items are fresh produce, dairy, eggs, and protein. Many of our neighbors are visiting food shelves for the first time. Food shelves are struggling to keep up with demand

Mission

Willing Hands recovers fresh food to reduce food waste and expand equitable and reliable access to fresh food.

Their Values

Volunteerism: Volunteering is foundational to advancing our mission and creates connectedness in our community.

Environmental Stewardship: Reducing food waste is our organization’s most impactful opportunity to mitigate the climate crisis. they seek to reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment throughout their operations.

Advancing Equity: All people should have access to nourishing, fresh food. We are committed to more deeply understanding and responding to the diverse needs, preferences, and circumstances of those in our community. They are committed to ensuring all those who engage with the organization feel included, respected, and able to thrive.

Strengthening Our Community: Strong, mutually beneficial partnerships are key to community resilience. They appreciate, support, and collaborate with local farms, donors, recipient organizations, and community partners to contribute to our community’s collective well-being.

Christina Annas began her talk by reminding us that she was once a “little sprout”.

This led to a delightful, insightful and humorous overview of her journey from Upstate New York to California to Massachusetts and then New Hampshire.  At times the talk was linear, and other points if was a winding road that took her on detours that highlighted her interesting life, and delightful sense of humor.

Christina Annas

She covered stories about her family, her educational adventures, work experiences, volunteering, domestic and international travel, her love of animals and various hobbies.

She grew up about 1 ½ hours from NYC.  She never developed a NYC accent, but she shared that when angry she can sound like she comes from Long Island.  As a child, because she was so tall, many could forget that she was a child, thus as an adult, she likes to remember that the child in her can still be present and playful.

It quickly became apparent that family is very important to Christina. 

She shared that at the age of 20 she packed her underwear and shoes to journey to California to be nearer her grandmother, her father’s mother. She knew her father wouldn’t “approve” of her talking this adventure, so she informed him of the plan about 24 hours prior to departure. She stayed in California until her grandmother died. She thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent with her grandmother.  She then journeyed back to New York with friends. It took over 5 weeks to get back east…the first of many travel adventure she shared.

She shared stories about her father, mother and her boyfriend and his son.  Since her father died about 4 years ago, she has been spending a lot of time with her mother traveling around the world. She cherishes the times they spend together.

She had many memories to share about her education path.  She had a dream of becoming a veterinarian but that wasn’t meant to be. She told us that getting into vet school is harder than getting into med school. She attended seven colleges before completing her bachelor’s degree.  While in school, she had a knack for understanding mathematics and tutored many of her fellow students.  When she graduated, she knew that becoming a vet wouldn’t be a career path she could take, she became a mathematics teacher. She taught for 15 years.  Her best teaching stories are from teaching middle school kid, who gave her a “run for her money”.