We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennie Fowler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennie below.

Jennie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My folks were civic-minded. Through organizations and on their own they helped others with all they had. Dad was a Shriner, and they gave through their church. On their own they helped an abused child become safe and a poor family with groceries and goods for years; unbeknownst to anyone,

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I want others to know about a unique organization to which I have devoted myself. In my local NextDoor app I saw Andrew Fitzgerald was seeking folks interested in helping cancer patients. He grows organic food and wants to give it away to cancer patients though an organization he called Food For The Cure. A small batch of neighbors got together and two of us joined him. The board is Andrew, Alan Staples and myself. We grow organic produce and give it away to those fighting cancer, just as he envisioned!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I thought I understood organic food because I had seen it in the produce section of supermarkets. It was lesser quality and very expensive. What I didn’t know, is organic canned and boxed goods and locally grown organic produce are great options for the needs of a community. There is an organic farmers market in Brookside all summer long. We are fortunate to be able to have a table on site. This has been a way to generate donations and publicity..

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

When we started, we dug into our own pockets to purchase what we needed. We sought donors and also volunteer gardeners. Right away we worked to become a legal not-for-profit entity. A free legal aid attorney provided advice and documents and we filed Federal, Missouri, and Kansas paperwork included filing as an entity with the Missouri Secretary of State. Donations were now tax advantaged so it’s better for donors but still an important job is to get generous donors consistently supporting what we do while we solicit clients at the right pace for how much produce and purchased and donated organic goods we have to give away.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://foodforthecure.com/