85: Emily Wolfe

Food Distribution, Café Esperanza

Emily Wolfe works in food distribution for a nonprofit organization called Café Esperanza. She works about 30 hours a week and did so all throughout the shutdown. During the pandemic, they would come into work twice a week to make meals for up to 200 people. Normally, Emily is in charge of organizing volunteers, but due to fears about health and safety, the number of volunteers dropped drastically. So, she helped out in any other way she could, often doing prep work in the kitchen or working on obtaining supplies. Café Esperanza was supposed to have its grand opening in March of 2020, but was, of course, unable to open its indoor dining area as planned. Instead, they began by handing out bagged meals outside and eventually opened an outdoor area. Café Esperanza operates on a “pay what you can” model, where some people pay for their food, some pay it forward, and some work. They pride themselves on making their food as wholesome and organic as possible, receiving a lot of produce from local farms. They see mostly the same people every week and are able to build relationships with the regulars. One moment that sticks with Emily is when a group of young children came in unsure if they could ask for food. Of course, Emily said yes and also asked if they wanted anything to bring home as well. The kids were so thrilled at the prospect of being able to bring food home to their parents, and one of them even returned with a donation that their parents had sent. 

Emily lives with her husband, who also worked all through the pandemic, and their ten-year-son. Personally, she knows around fifteen people who contracted COVID, though she did not contract it herself. The pandemic and also the concurrent racial justice movement happening in America have really made Emily reconsider her role at the café as less of a leader and more of a supporter. She has been taking classes on anti-racism and doing the work to become educated. Everyone was already feeling very isolated and then witnessing George Floyd’s murder and those like it and the ensuing injustices cause another layer of hurt, horror, and sadness. Emily thinks she has been able to become a lot more sensitive. She has learned a lot from non-binary volunteers at the café. The solitude has been hard, but there has also been some positive growth in that solitude, giving people space to really reflect on the issues. She hopes that society will be able to create a new normal where we can still create community and closeness over food and that Café Esperanza can be a safe, warm, and welcoming place in their corner of the world.