Today we’re continuing our Women’s History Month blog series by honoring Anne Cushman, Food For Free’s longest serving Board Member.
Anne grew up in a time that preceded the celebration and acknowledgement of Women’s History Month. Anne reflects that her career path was inspired by a woman she met when she was 16 years old who was able to balance a strong family life while working as a business owner, something Anne at the time saw as “having it all”. Meeting this woman struck a chord in Anne, and looking back, Anne identifies this as the moment she was inspired to become an entrepreneur.
Anne stayed true to her ambitions and later opened a retail store at Faneuil Hall Marketplace and a wholesale gift business with products sold to retailers across the country. There were fewer woman-owned businesses then than there are today, and people often asked Anne if it felt like a risk to open the store on her own.
“Running my own business never felt like a risk,” Anne explained. “When you have a goal and hone skills to achieve it, it’s about following your passions – and the feeling of risk isn’t there!”
Eventually, Anne decided that her days in retail were over and she set her sights on a new career path. Tapping into her network, she met a chef who was opening a restaurant. Using skills developed over the years of promoting her store, Anne did the marketing and publicity for the restaurant and a new business was launched! Later, through the same connection, Anne joined the board at Operation Frontline – a direct service program of Share Our Strength. Operation Frontline, the precursor to Cooking Matters, was initiated to promote a long-term solution to hunger by equipping parents facing food insecurity with the cooking, nutrition, and food budgeting skills needed to make healthy and economical food choices for their families. It was there that Anne came to realize her deep passion for fighting against food insecurity.
After her time at Operation Frontline, a friend introduced Anne to Food For Free’s working board, where members were selected based on specific skill sets so that they worked together to amplify Food For Free’s efforts. Anne brought her Marketing and Public Relations experience to the Food For Free board back in the 1990s, at a time when the world was still largely analog and the organization was much smaller.
Since then, Anne has seen the tremendous change and growth Food For Free has undergone. From the addition of new programs and increases in revenue, volunteer initiatives, and more, the organization has continued to increase its impact across Eastern Massachusetts. However, one thing has always remained the same – the nonprofit’s mission to end hunger in our communities.
“The more we learn at Food For Free about the hunger landscape in our Greater Boston communities, the more work there is to be done,” said Anne. “The team at Food For Free continues to work tirelessly to adapt to these needs, remain flexible, and create innovative solutions to put food on the tables of those in need.”
Anne’s dedication to Food For Free’s work is rooted in her deep alignment to the organization’s mission. She has a particular passion for and dedication to alleviating food insecurity amongst our youth, to ensure that the next generation of leaders are well-educated and are able to properly focus on their studies. Anne believes that in order to have the energy to learn, students need to have access to good, healthy food on a reliable basis, which is a key focus area for Food For Free programs such as School Markets, Heat-n-Eats and Weekend Eats.
In addition to uplifting the next generation, Anne strongly encourages everyone to be an active participant in their own life – and to remember that if you follow your passion, whatever route you take is never a risk when you believe in yourself, utilize your network and hone your skills.
Thank you, Anne, for your longstanding and continued support of Food For Free’s work and mission!
