Washington County Food Security Coalition: Facilitating collaboration across the community to address COVID-19 challenges
Founded: 2017
Leadership: WCFSC recently became a 501(c)(3) organization and the leadership team has transitioned to a board of directors
Action Teams: Child Hunger; Meal Delivery; Community Horticulture
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only presented us significant public health and medical challenges but also a mixture of anxiety and fear among our volunteers and coalition organizers. Despite such difficulties, Washington County Food Security Coalition (WCFSC) has been able to continue coordination of partner services in Washington County ensuring local food providers have not had to suspend services due to a shortage of volunteers. When asked about their secrets, Rev. Carol Peterson, WCFSC Chairperson, attributes their continued success through COVID-19 to the coalition's efforts in ensuring regularly scheduled virtual meetings are taking place and collaborating with people that have well-connected social networks.
Across the community, the coalition identified a shortage of volunteers during food distribution events, especially with an increase in COVID-19 cases among volunteers and staff at sites. When a couple of school food service staff for the summer feeding program tested positive of COVID-19, it became even more essential for the coalition to find a reliable pool of volunteers to tap from.
The coalition’s partnership with another local non-profit, For the City, provided exactly the connections it needed. For The City founder, Tori Glasco Bryan, has a wealth of connections with local churches and civic organizations and is well respected in the Washington County area. With her help, the coalition was able to recruit the dozen volunteers needed for several food distribution events and provided four to five volunteers each Wednesday to assist the staff at the local summer feeding program sites.
The experience and success of the Washington County Food Security Coalition echo the advice offered by THI regional director Dr. Martinez. In her presentation on how to form a stronger Hunger Free Community Coalition, Dr. Martinez emphasized the importance of identifying and engaging with the Kevin Bacon’s of one’s community. For those who are less familiar with Hollywood, the point is that recruiting people with a wide and robust social network is essential for any community projects to be successful. Washington County Food Security Coalition has continued to overcome challenges posited by COVID-19 with the help of the Kevin Bacon of its community, and now is more important than ever for each coalition to identify and engage with the well-connected people and agencies of its own community to face the crisis head on.
Author: Zane Peng
8/6/2020
