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Welcome to The Giving Garden Podcast, where we explore how small acts of giving can blossom into lasting change. In each episode, we highlight the power of giving—whether it’s time, kindness, or resources—and how these acts can transform both lives and whole communities.
Join us as we explore the ripple effect of giving and its lasting impact.
Speaker Welcome to the Giving Garden podcast where we explore how small acts of giving can blossom into lasting change. I'm your host, Martina Halloran, founder of the Giving Garden and CEO of Doctor. Hauschka Skincare USA. In each episode, we highlight the power of giving, whether it's time, kindness, or resources, and how these acts can transform both lives and whole communities. Join me as we explore the ripple effect of giving and its lasting impact.
Martina Halloran:As we close the year, I find myself thinking about how every act of care, no matter how small, has the power to nourish something greater. This month, as we gather for good, I'm joined by two remarkable guests whose stories remind us that care, when shared, becomes a force for change. Both have served on Project Bread's inaugural Advisory Council of Experts, a groundbreaking group that brought together people with lived experience of food insecurity to help shape solutions across Massachusetts. Their insights, compassion, and their leadership continue to make an incredible impact today. Paula Tobon is the twenty twenty five recipient of the prestigious Patrick Hughes Social Justice Award for her leadership in advancing racial equity and inside out transformation, as well as a certified coach in neuro linguistics with more than five years of experience guiding personal transformation for over 600 individuals across The US, Latin America, and Europe.
Martina Halloran:She is more than a coach. She is a catalyst for change, demonstrating how reprogramming the mind can redefine what's possible for individuals and communities alike. As one of eight founding council members, Giovanni Zuniga holds dual MBAs in business administration and project management. He has spent more than a decade in public service, developing innovative solutions for communities impacted by forced displacement and armed conflict. As a transit justice organizer at Green Roots, a leading environmental organization in Chelsea and East Boston, He works to advance equitable and sustainable public transportation solutions that improve access and quality of life for immigrants and working class communities.
Martina Halloran:Paula Giovanni, welcome to the giving garden podcast. I am so excited to share your stories today, and I wanna thank you for being here. I'd love to begin a little bit with your stories, and I I know that our listeners would love to understand a little bit about some of the moments that shaped your understanding of food insecurity and what led you to turn those experiences into the advocacy that you're doing today. I'll start with Paula. Could you share a little bit about your personal story and when you first encountered and understood food insecurity in your own life?
Paula Tobon:Yes. Of course. Hi. Good morning, Martina. Thank you for the invitation.
Paula Tobon:Yes. I'm Colombian. When I came to Boston as an immigrant, I knew hunger, with that family, living a new life, with that French, with my Spanish, with that house. Sometimes I choose for food for my daughter or food for me and always chosen her. That pain never leaves, but I can become purpose.
Martina Halloran:That's a story that I hear so often from parents. It's you're choosing food for your children or food for yourself. And it's an easy choice in one way because you know it's your children first, but it's a difficult choice because you need to be nourished as well. You need to function in everyday life and being fully nourished really allows you to participate in life. Giovanni, how was it for you?
Giovanny Zuniga:Hello, everyone. Thank you for this amazing invitation. I'm a Colombian immigrant who arrived by The United States seven years ago with my two children who were used one and six years all at all at the time. From the beginning, we faced multiple challenge, language barrier, bit of seeking information or immigration status and the pressure from other immigrants who often advise us to keep our heads down or silently. I never express opportunity to rob in this new country.
Giovanny Zuniga:We struggle with high rental cars, difficulties to navigating public transportations, for options that were very different from where we knew in Colombia, which was especially stressful because our biggest concern was always feeding on children. While I was waiting for a work permit and a Social Security number, I had to find two jobs and quickly realized that this has been the routine for those kind of immigrant for many years. I experienced my first time, the food insecurity when I began changing my eating habits and family tradition to save my money. Painful development for all of us.
Martina Halloran:Both have shared so many obstacles, and it and it's near and dear to my heart. My brother-in-law is from Colombia. I am second generation here. So as you move through the generations, I think the challenges become different, but I think some of the challenges remain the same in terms of access. Because both of you really talked about how was I getting access?
Martina Halloran:There's new systems that you're not familiar with, and it sounds like project bread has really been able to take away some of those barriers and some of those obstacles. So you were both part of the very first council of experts, and I think that is incredible and powerful. And Paula, I'll start with you. How did it feel stepping into a space where your experience was seen as expertise?
Paula Tobon:My experience, they become my mission. I don't just give food. I give voice. I teach women, like, your story is not weakness. It's power.
Martina Halloran:Oh, I love that. I love that, Paula. Yes. Yes. And yes.
Paula Tobon:I'm from the power we change systems. This is like my vision.
Martina Halloran:That is incredible. And and it's it's twofold. It's women are so powerful. Sorry, Giovanni. It's not that men aren't powerful, but in so many ways, women can be the heart of households.
Martina Halloran:And, and especially when it comes to food, because food is such a nurturing, especially in Latin culture. Food is how we show love. Food is how we connect. And it can be a very powerful vehicle to gather people and to connect people. I love that, that you feel so powerful in your mission and that it's a mission.
Martina Halloran:I love that, Paula. Thank you. Giovanni, how are how did you feel stepping into the council, a new experience with a different perspective?
Giovanny Zuniga:It it was the opportunity to transfer the challenge that my family and I face it in to something that will help others. When I learned about the council, immediately feel that this wasn't a space where my journey as immigrant father and someone had navigate food insecurity could actually make difference for many years, especially when they're really my first months in in this country, I feel invisible inside systems that not that designed with people like me mind Joining the council feel like reclaiming this visibility, not only for myself, but for tonsils of families who like similar reality.
Martina Halloran:Food insecurity isn't always visible, and people experiencing it feel invisible. And it's that's a painful place to be. I was brought up in a food insecure household. I received free lunch. And that is that is a difficult space because it doesn't always look like the stereotypes we've been taught.
Martina Halloran:They come to the conversation making assumptions about what food insecurity looks like. And sometimes it's our neighbor, it's our coworkers, it's even our friends. Paula, what misconceptions do you often see when you are talking about experiences, food insecurity, and what are some of those kind of common misnomers that you you feel are out there?
Paula Tobon:Like I used to say, people think if you are hungry, you don't work or you can work.
Martina Halloran:That's a great point. That is a great point.
Paula Tobon:But with hungry, I worked three jobs, seventeen hours every day, and I still had no food in home. So hunger doesn't care if you are strong, smart, black, blue, green, or proud. It hits families, moms, students, workers, and Jake keeps them silent or but in in I don't know how to pronounce. Invisible?
Martina Halloran:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Shame is a very heavy part of this conversation because there's so much stigma for so many people.
Martina Halloran:And and wow, you said something that I I think our audience will understand very clearly. People who are experiencing food insecurity are working people. They are people that are in our communities, possibly in the same office that we might work in. People are working, and it doesn't mean that they're not working or they're not contributing to society, that they are simply not making a livable wage that allows them to feed the people in their household the way they need to nourish them. So thank you, Paula.
Martina Halloran:Giovanni, from your perspective, what are some of the the stigmas that you see in the conversations that you're having in your advocacy work?
Giovanny Zuniga:There are moments up, Michael, we did we for example, I always remember I see in Pembolians, especially immigrants and seniors waiting in the long lines outside of community put pantries in cities like Chelsea, where we're here. Many stood quietly avoiding a contact. Maybe embarrassed to be seen. Some people will ask me if going to a country could upgrade the immigration processes or if someone may do them for needing help. The French silently say more that that works.
Giovanny Zuniga:I'd spoken with parents who skip meals to make sure that the children have enough to eat. The silent is a rooting in stigma.
Martina Halloran:Silence and avoiding eye contact. No one should be silent. Everybody should be empowered when you're feeling empowered and you have that sense of mission. Like Paula said, that eye contact is powerful and that inability to feed yourself on any given day should not come with shame. And that kind of brings me to the next conversation.
Martina Halloran:Project Bread's Council of Experts was founded on the belief that those closest to the problem are also closest to the solution. And when you talk about the shame, the lack of eye contact and how people are operating within that food access system, you're helping people access reliable food sources. How do we shift that narrative a little bit? And how do we help people in our communities access that with a little bit more dignity? What are some of the things that you've done, or what are some of the things that our listeners that are here today can think about acting possibly a little differently when they're engaging and supporting community organizations and the people that are using them?
Giovanny Zuniga:After the spirits, we can normalize conversation about food insecurity. Hungary is far more common that people realize, especially in immigrant and vulnerable communities. When we talk about the openly, we don't judgements. We read those shame and create a space for people to seek help. So I can't I we we can create environments where accessing supports feel safe.
Giovanny Zuniga:That means so far, any information mean multiple languages using the common and culturally sensitive communication and ensuring families know that getting help with no doubt, break their immigration status or the future opportunity process. We throw transparency here. We can actively participate in community airport, voluntary donating or simply sharing a resort with neighbors. Sometimes one conversation can be the risk that someone meets.
Martina Halloran:I love that one conversation can change something. One conversation can create the space. I often talk about creating and holding space for people and creating a safe space. I think you said that, Giovanni, really can help people feel comfortable and confident to access assistance and help. And I think that it was really a beautiful thing that you're able to do is to create the space for safety and cultural relevance.
Martina Halloran:I think cultural relevance, while it's it's really this beautiful conversation of three Latinas on here, three Latinos. Sorry, Giovanni. Is that there are so many we're a melting pot in The United States. There's so many diverse people that are accessing and need to access resources in our country and making it culturally relevant as well as making it accessible for vulnerable communities. One of the communities that people often overlook in the food insecurity conversation, many people seeking aid are elderly people.
Martina Halloran:So they have worked their whole life. They have contributed in so many ways. They've raised a generation of of children, and it's difficult for them, whether it's a mobility issue, it's a transportation issue, and really hitting every aspect of access, whether it's language, whether it's cultural relevance, whether it's transportation and mobility issues. And really from a healthcare perspective, as we know, as people age, there's other health conditions that are more prevalent and making sure that we're providing access to food sources that are gonna support those health conditions as people age, I think is incredible and incredibly important. So, Paula, from your perspective, what are some of the things that that we can do or we can offer people in our community?
Martina Halloran:Similar to what Giovanni was talking about, what else can we do to help people feel safe in accessing help or feeling less isolated? Because asking for help can feel very isolating at times.
Paula Tobon:First, stop judging the people.
Martina Halloran:Judging. Gotcha.
Paula Tobon:Stop judging the people. Start listening. Say and see you. I respect you. Doctor said, we love, not pity.
Paula Tobon:Food is not charity. It's dignity. And everyone deserves tea.
Martina Halloran:Yes. Absolutely. Dignity is is something that I think is often left out of the conversation because to nourish yourself every single day is about dignity. Humans come into the world. And if you're gonna participate and contribute to society, being nourished is a fundamental human right.
Martina Halloran:Having access to food on any given day that is reliable and healthy is a human right from my perspective. And so when we know that hunger, that kind of takes me to the the next bigger conversation, is we know that hunger doesn't exist in isolation. It's tied to housing. It's tied to health care. It's tied to wages, all of the systems that shape daily life in our communities.
Martina Halloran:And what systemic barriers do you believe most prevent people and especially families from achieving consistent food security? And how have you seen project bread work to dismantle some of these barriers? I'll start with you, Paula.
Paula Tobon:Before they spoke for us. Now they speak with us.
Martina Halloran:Big difference. Excellent. Yeah. That's a big difference. Yeah.
Paula Tobon:Yeah. When I walk into a meeting, I'm not alone and carry the votes on immigrants moms And that changed everything programs, language. My start in Project Breath and the war in the community, there's one word that always, I don't know how to pronounce this word, in the identifier, Project Breath. For me, our work with the community, the Project Breath job, and everything about food and security, the words is inclusion.
Martina Halloran:Yes. Everybody's experience is so uniquely different, but I love what you said. They're not speaking for you any longer. They're speaking with you, and they're giving and creating you creating the space for you to have your own voice in the conversation. Because, obviously, if food insecurity has been part of your experience, that voice is very different than somebody who hasn't experienced it.
Martina Halloran:That is really fantastic. Your story show that leadership can grow out of struggle. You both are leading in so many incredible ways, and that advocacy is also a form of healing. What personal growth have each of you experienced through this work, whether it's as a community leader, as an advocate, or as a human being? Giovanni?
Giovanny Zuniga:Yeah. I feel that a very important moment was when we represent Project Breaded National Conference Anti Congo in Washington. We have an opportunity to participate, our speakers. And I feel that the most important in this big process was when we can share our experience with a lot of organization across the country. When we finish the presentation, we receive a lot of questions and a lot of comments for other organization.
Giovanny Zuniga:Very interesting. I mean, understand how our life experience projects can generate the real impact, not only in food security like it's a project. It's a model that you can use in other sectors like housing, public health. The most important always is king in the people have a real experience and have the knowledge to participate in this space and take the important decision to improve all own quality life.
Martina Halloran:Yeah. Project RED is an incredible model in terms of not just food insecurity, all of wrap the wraparound services that they provide and access to health care and really addressing the bigger construct of what's happening in society in terms of health, wellness, and how it is all connected to nourishment and sustenance on a daily basis. So thank you, Giovanni. Paula, from your perspective, I would love to hear.
Paula Tobon:When I came broken when I came broken, I thought, like, I don't matter. Now I know my pain give me power. I'm not just a survivor. I am a leader, a mother, a coach. I have my own business now.
Paula Tobon:I am a Project Breath ambassador. Now I speak English and lead meetings. I was awarded with the Patrick Schuch Award in the World Hunger, World Against Hunger for my work with the community. So, yeah, this is a this is a big difference. You know?
Paula Tobon:I came broken, and now I am the voice now for my community.
Martina Halloran:That's incredible. I can see that you're probably an amazing coach. So that is yes. That is awesome. So if you were sharing with somebody else who's experiencing food insecurity, maybe for the first time, what would you be able to share with them in perhaps helping them move from feeling broken to this place of advocacy?
Martina Halloran:Because I know it didn't happen overnight for you. And I think it's it's there's a lot of steps, but what could you share with somebody that you might meet today or tomorrow at one of the food access points that is really feeling food insecurity either for themselves or their family? How could you help them kind of pivot into advocacy?
Giovanny Zuniga:I feel that it's very important that we talk in our communities and share all these resources that Project Bread have available because a project read are leading May. That's that is an active coalition that with most of 500 active members across Massachusetts. And it's important that we understand that we have all these group to support a fight with food insecurity. And we can use all this power for offering real solution at vulnerable communities affected for for a insecurity problem.
Martina Halloran:I heard a couple of really amazing things. There's groups, so you're not alone. So it takes away the isolation, and it's power. Both of you have spoken about power. And I think that is such a critical part of this conversation that people experiencing food insecurity are not powerless.
Martina Halloran:And also as community members, we can help support them in regaining or finding their power in a moment of difficulty. So thank you, Giovanni. At the Giving Garden, we believe that every act of care plants a seed that can nourish something greater. Before we close, I'd love for you both to share how our listeners can join you in the work that you're doing. What is something that's very tangible, very real world actionable that our listeners can support programs like project bread or contributing to ending hunger in their own communities this season?
Paula Tobon:Go to projectbread.org and donate. Every dollar helps feed a family, but also volunteer. Listen. Share a story. Most important, talk about hunger.
Paula Tobon:Break the silence because when when we speak up, we rise together.
Martina Halloran:I love that. Break the silence. When we speak up, we rise together. Paula, Giovanni, thank you for sharing your time, your stories, and most importantly, your hearts. You've reminded us that giving isn't only about what we offer.
Martina Halloran:It's about how we listen, how we stand together, and how we choose to act. For our listeners, if today's conversation has moved you, we invite you to learn more about Project Bread and the Advisory Council of Expertsprojectbread .org, or visit drhauska.com, the giving garden, to see how your care can help nourish communities across the country. Every act of giving is a seed, and together we can grow a future where everyone has access to food, dignity, and care. Until next time. Thank you for joining us, and thank you for helping us gather for good.
Martina Halloran:Thank you for listening to the Giving Garden podcast. I hope you're leaving inspired because even the smallest act can spark positive change. If you've enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share. The Giving Garden podcast is produced by Edwin Bautista and edited by Steven West. A special thanks to Helen Pelosi for her guidance and generosity.
Martina Halloran:The Giving Garden podcast is brought to you by Doctor. Hauschka Skincare USA pioneers in natural skincare for over fifty years in home to the Giving Garden loyalty program. Visit drhauschka.com to learn more.