Our New Food Access Director: Welcome Louren!
Join us in welcoming Louren Reed as North Helpline’s new Food Access Director!
Louren’s life work embodies what it means to be here for the whole person, inspired by the notion that “food is in every part of us.”
Your gift helps us keep families nourished and housed.
Coming to North Helpline from a large agency, Louren was motivated to work for a smaller nonprofit that serves a more localized area. When asked about what drew them to North Helpline, they stated that it was North Helpline’s wrap-around care model:
“North Helpline isn’t just focusing on hunger or housing. We are working on addressing every need our neighbors have with dignity, connection to resources, and creating community.”
Louren comes to North Helpline with over 20 years of varied public service experience. They started their career teaching art in a diverse and low-income community in Texas. Louren noted, “My first experience witnessing food insecurity was in this role.” After teaching for 8 years, they shifted to mental health counseling in Mississippi working with teenagers facing behavioral health issues.
Louren and their partner, John.
After moving to Washington State in 2015 and evaluating their next steps, Louren engaged in food access work by doing home grocery deliveries. A pivotal moment for them was delivering food in an area where they lived:
“A little girl opened the door to receive a delivery and was so excited to receive the food in the box. It showed me how close hunger is to all of us where we may not see it.”
Now, Louren begins their work as the Food Access Director for North Helpline. “In this role, I like the fact that I can work to affect organizational change while hearing the doorbell ringing when food deliveries are being made.” It is the day-to-day operations complemented by the larger leadership tasks that excite Louren to serve in this role.
Louren’s Pup, Rosie
When asked what excited her about Louren joining North Helpline, Kelly Brown, our Executive Director shared, “We are so grateful to have Louren’s leadership on our team. I am excited about their ability to foster belonging across our organization. They’ve already brought so much energy to our team.”
Louren looks to enhance North Helpline’s food access program by making our food offerings more familiar and culturally relevant. Offering food that we know people will enjoy is one of Louren’s main motivators, “so they can be nourished to tackle other aspects of their life - to not only live but to thrive.” This notion aligns with North Helpline’s 4 core values of dignity, trust, belonging, and equity.
“So many meaningful moments in our lives are centered around food, so it is on all of us to make accessing food easier for everyone in our community.”
- Louren, Food Access Director
This summer, let’s work together with Louren to make North Helpline a true community hub.
Where neighbors can access food that they will enjoy.
Where families can receive assistance to stay in their homes.
Where our community can not only live but thrive.
