Invested Faith Fellows working for Food Justice
Dear friends of Invested Faith,
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about pivoting.
Being human often means finding comfort in familiar patterns—but the world keeps changing, and so must we. In this moment in our country, we’re all realizing that how we think, act, and live our faith will need to pivot.
Here at Invested Faith, we experienced our own surprising moment of pivot this week. As we named our 17th class of Invested Faith Fellows (watch for an announcement coming soon), we realized that—just six years in—we have now identified, resourced, and continue to network more than 80 faith-rooted social entrepreneurs working in 28 states and the District of Columbia. These leaders are building businesses and initiatives across the country that heal communities and shift systems—living examples of faith in action.
And right now, their work could not be more urgent.
With SNAP benefits ending this week, over a million families—and especially children—will soon lose access to the food they rely on every day. The resulting gap will be devastating, and our Fellows are already responding: creating food cooperatives, running community gardens, building hydroponic urban farms, and designing new systems of distribution rooted in dignity and justice. Their work embodies the pivot our faith demands—a shift from scarcity to abundance, from charity to justice.
This is a new way to think about doing God’s work in the world. You might call it a pivot:
from preserving institutions to empowering innovation,
from guarding traditions to investing in transformation.
Churches across the country are seeking legacy tools that both honor their past and carry their witness forward. As people of faith, we must learn to pivot—because we follow the One who is always creating something new.
Thanks to our Fellows, partner faith communities, and friends like you, that new creation is already happening: people are being fed, immigrants welcomed, women and teens empowered, neighborhoods renewed, and hope restored.
This is a critical time for our country, and none of us can sit on the sidelines. May we keep learning how to pivot—toward justice, toward mercy, and toward the good God imagines for us all.
Thank you for being part of this brave new movement of faith in action.
Learn more about our Fellows here.
I am so grateful for all of you.
P.S. If your faith community is ready to pivot with us, I want to meet with you! Please reach out and let’s talk.
Invested Faith Fellows Working for Food Justice
Join us in supporting Invested Faith Fellows who are reimagining food systems and nourishing their neighbors.
Your gift helps bring food, dignity, and hope to communities nationwide.
Mina Aria and Antajuan Adams, New Roots Urban Farm, St. Louis, Missouri
Kerry Brodie, Emma's Torch, Washington DC and Brooklyn, NY
Heber Brown, Black Church Food Security Network, Baltimore, Maryland
Nelson Crabbe and Nikola Rodriguez, Awa' Bird Nursery, Hilo, Hawai'i
Stephen Cue Jn-Marie, The Hip Hop Smoothie Shop, Los Angeles, California
Kit Evans-Ford, Argrow's House and Cafe, Davenport, Iowa
Carl Johnson, Storehouse Grocers and Coffee Shop, East St. Paul, Minnesota
Moy Mendez, Hope Center, Blue Island, Illinois
Drew Nagy, Living Waters Community Center, Richmond, Virginia
Tiffany Terrell, A Better Way Grocers, Albany, Georgia
Jonathan Thomas, The Garden, Ferguson, Missouri
Robert Rueda, Global Blends Coffee Shop and Deli, Edinburg, Texas
