Non-Profit Spotlight | Michelle Moskowitz Brown | Local Matters

We are excited to take the month of February to highlight women making an impact in our community through the work they do in non-profit organizations. We asked these women to share one thing…why they are passionate about their work. We are inspired by their responses, and we know you will be, too! Today are thrilled to highlight our friend Michelle Moskowitz Brown who is dedicated to making a difference through the amazing work she does at Local Matters!

We all make assumptions about how other people eat and why, and I am passionate about dispelling myths and upending judgment on this topic. I am passionate about my work at Local Matters, working toward a reality where everyone has the resources they need to eat well and feed their families.

Perhaps my passion comes from having grown up food insecure and losing my brother to a diet-related disease. These experiences do fuel me, but my passion is broader. I care about affecting change. I believe that it is not the job of experts, but rather of the curious, committed, and compassionate people who apply their values to their lives to do so. Don’t get me wrong, we need to move mountains and we need leadership to get there, but it’s not the only thing that matters.

At this point, diet-related chronic diseases hardly discriminate based on socioeconomic status. The top ten purchases in the grocery carts of SNAP (food stamps) vs. non-SNAP households are the same. I am passionate about making sure everyone has access to the food of their choice and that it’s easier for everyone to get food on the table. I do not romanticize this process, I do not have a problem with convenient food, and I do understand why people use the drive-thru. But I also know that people with limited income do cook more meals at home than others, and that most people need support in building their cooking skills and cutting through food marketing nonsense.

I have always loved the phrase, “If not now, then when.” More recently, I realized this was a Hillel quote, in full, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am not for others, then what am I? And if not now, then when?” Here’s to living our passions every day!