Spoonfuls’ values, what they mean, and how we live them
By Sara D’Alessandro, Head of Strategic Administration
I was scrolling through social media one night last fall when I came across a quote: “Your company culture isn’t words on a website or posters on a wall…. It’s how your staff feels on a Sunday night.”
Reflecting on the busy time of year Spoonfuls was in – budget season, revenue projection time, hurtling towards year-end goal planning (alongside federal policy upheavals that had been disrupting the food system for months), it was clear to me: the time was right to check in on how the people on our team were feeling on Sunday nights.
In the coming weeks, we gathered at an all-staff retreat and in small focus groups to answer a series of questions: “When have you seen Spoonfuls at its best? When have you and your teammates done something you’re particularly proud of?” And subsequently, “What trait were you, or you and your team, or Spoonfuls, demonstrating in that moment?”
What emerged from hours of conversation full of reflection, storytelling, and team member recognition is a set of values that we now recognize as the way we do business (and the way we’ve been doing business all along). Read on to see Spoonfuls’ fresh values and the anecdotes that illuminated them.
Purpose
Our work is grounded in and in service to Spoonfuls’ mission. We are clear on our role in ensuring good food reaches people who need it.
“Each day, with the genuine interactions we have with partners on the road, we get to know what our partners need, where our services can help, and the impact the food on our trucks is having in that very community.”
“Witnessing the passion for our mission from my co-workers every day, but especially when we’re together as a full team at staff retreats, is always a time when I see us at our best.”
Commitment
We show up for people and the planet. Especially, we show up for those communities we reach with the food we recover, for our partners, end recipients, and one another. We stay steady in the face of uncertainty in our food system and crises in our world. We deliver.
“Food Recovery Coordinator, James, has a long commute to work, but he shows up with grace despite it. He was recently on leave, but he picked up right where he left off with the same level of dedication.”
“When there is food to be recovered somewhere – and we add on to our schedules and routes to get that food and distribute it – we are seen as committed and reliable in the communities we work in.”
Respect
We treat others the way we expect to be treated – with fairness and dignity. We respect the many people and resources it takes to get food from farm to fork.
“Spoonfuls’ HR policies are a place I see us at our best. As one example, generous bereavement time. No one wants to have to use it, but having it is immensely meaningful after the loss of a loved one.”
“The new ways we have been taking care of our fleet this year is helping to keep our trucks running on the road longer. We’re maximizing the resources we have to do food recovery more efficiently – the same way we’re maximizing the potential food has to feed people in our state.”
“When Spoonfuls made a thoughtful and deliberate investment in staff well-being, relationship-management, and consistency of service by deciding to employ two, full-time staff members per truck. This means sharing the literal weight of lifting thousands of pounds of food each week.”
Excellence
As experts in food recovery and logistics, we conduct our business with consistency, reliability, and professionalism that builds credibility and fosters the community’s trust in our team.
“Our communications are so great! ‘Food recovery’ isn’t always intuitive. Our Communications team takes such care to invite people to learn about the environmental and social impact of wasted food.”
“Our Senior Manager of Grants, Greg, displays quiet, steady excellence. For years, he has written the grants that raise critical dollars for Spoonfuls to continue operating, built community with the people investing in our work, and expertly identified the impacts Spoonfuls has throughout Massachusetts.”
Resourcefullness
In service to Spoonfuls’ mission, we go where we can be useful. We make the most of time and resources. Each person on our team has a unique and uniquely important charge in service to our mission, bringing different skills, experiences, and perspectives to bear. We are good stewards of the food we recover and the funds we raise to conduct our business.
“I always admire how Spoonfuls responded during the COVID-19 pandemic. From making space for virtual connection points across the team to taking care of each other, including through the set up of a staff pantry to minimize additional points of exposure for our frontline, Spoonfuls made the most of an unprecedented moment.”
“Rich, one of our Food Recovery Coordinators in Western Massachusetts, stays focused on acquiring and utilizing equipment that improves our food recovery, so that we can continue doing the best work possible and improving our impact across the state.”
Collaboration
We know we are better and stronger together, informed by community voices and working alongside others who share our commitment. We recognize that the work we do together would not be possible without our food and fund donors, community and coalition partners, board, and staff.
“Every Food Recovery Coordinator who shares stories, pictures, and photos on the road helps the entire team – Communications, Development, Programs, Strategic Administration – connect others to this work and demonstrates exactly what our organization’s purpose is.”
“One of my fellow Food Recovery Coordinators found pallets and pallets of milk waiting for them at a grocery store pick up. The milk inside was perfectly good, but there was a labeling mismatch. The 1% milk had the red cap that typically indicates whole milk, so the store couldn’t sell it. After loading their truck up with as much milk as they could fit, they flagged for our logistics team, who were able to coordinate sending other team members with trucks nearby to pick up the rest. It’s just one example of the many ways our team works together to recover as much food as possible.
Adaptability
We recognize that we work within an inherently unpredictable space, and we make the most of food available to be recovered. We are responsive to the changing needs and unique circumstances of the communities, partners, and people we serve.
“One time, our Food Recovery Team showed up to one of their regularly scheduled grocery store pick-ups only to find the store’s power had gone out. All the freezers and refrigerators were gone, and without an expectation they’d be back up and running soon, all the perfectly good food in them was at risk of being tossed. Our frontline team worked quickly with our office team to adjust their schedule so that they could spend more time at this grocery store, enabling them to load even more perfectly good, perishable food onto our refrigerated truck. They were able to prioritize product that they know our community partners nearby needed – it was a win-win situation that was made possible by quick adjustments from our Programs team.”
“Abbie’s first week at Spoonfuls was one where we got over 40 inches of snow in areas we serve. That meant route adjustments, schedule pivots, and other plan shifts that required the adaptability of a seasoned Food Recovery Coordinator. Just hours into the job, she was already rolling with the punches like one!”
