Today we’d like to introduce you to Renz Torres (on behalf of FGS).
Hi Renz, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My name is Renz (they/them), and I’m one of many Gainesville Free Grocery Store coordinators. We’re an all-volunteer food pantry based in Gainesville, FL, that offers traditional walk-up pantry services and deliveries, a niche not filled by any other organizations in the city. Free Grocery Store started as a much smaller operation in 2019 to divert food waste from local grocery stores. The initial COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 prompted us to rapidly alter and upgrade our operation into a delivery service targetting homebound and at-risk individuals. We were initially serving about 300 individuals across 100ish households in Gainesville. Still, as things opened up, we changed operations and scaled down. Also, we began doing more in-person services like a traditional walk-up pantry and mobile walk-up distributions in targeted neighborhoods. Today we have about 320 individuals across 100ish households we serve every two weeks by delivery and 20-30 households we serve through our walk-up pantry.
Throughout this, we’ve maintained our values as a grassroots organization. We’re a mostly communist/socialist organization that believes food is a right and the means of producing food should be owned by the people who produce and the people who it serves. In contrast to many other pantries in North Central Florida, we’re an all-secular organization that prioritizes being a low-barrier pantry – we don’t ask for proof of need, documentation, social security numbers, etc. We’re just trying to get food out to people who need it. We’re currently working on achieving 501(c)3 status, building more direct relationships with the neighborhoods we serve, and formalizing our organizational structure.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Free Grocery Store’s evolution has very much *not* been a smooth road. While we’ve built a system that scales well with available resources, we’ve always been capacity-constrained. During 2020, we had a lot of trouble sourcing food reliably from our local food bank or diversion efforts and resorted to buying food at cost. During summers, we generally need help finding volunteers because our base tends to be university students. This year, a lot has happened at our local food bank resulting in an irregular food supply, so we’re working on creating something more resilient. That being said, many in Gainesville want to see us succeed and support us as they can. We’re always looking for more support!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a grad student at UF in urban planning. Our operational bottom liner, Michael, is a student studying business. We represent a few different walks of life, but our professions have yet to cross paths with Free Grocery Store many times.
What makes you happy?
What makes us satisfied as organizers is that people get the food they need. Food is a right, and it’s great to see that right realized. That being said, getting food to people experiencing food insecurity is just one step in us being happy. There are so many other ways our food systems are designed in a way that subjugates us for profit. Capitalism designs food deserts and swamps in black and brown neighborhoods because they don’t see those areas as profitable. Disabled folks struggle to pay for and get food because they are deemed valueless by our economy. Farmworkers are paid scraps and have their immigration statuses dangled above their heads. Our roles in the food system are consumers; there is no formal way to have a say in an undemocratic food system. We’re satisfied today because we are fed. We will be happy tomorrow once we have a food system that works for all of us. (What that looks like, you may have to ask us one-on-one)
Contact Info:
- Website: gnvfgs.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/gnvfgs
- Facebook: facebook.com/gnvfgs
Image Credits
@gnvfgs Instagram, Renz Torres
