“ AfriThrive is not just combatting hunger , it ’ s nurturing the immigrant community by respecting and preserving our cultural identity through food . Because cultural identity is key , it ’ s life .” - dr . truphena choti
Dr . Truphena Choti of AfriThrive recounts the story of a recent immigrant to the United States who received a box of shelf-stable canned food from a local food pantry . Accustomed to cooking with fresh ingredients in her home country , the woman found herself without a can opener . Grateful for the assistance and not wanting to waste the food , she brought the box home and attempted to open the cans using a knife . “ She ended up at the emergency room to get stitches in her finger instead of cooking food ,” Dr . Choti remembers . The bandages were still freshly applied when the woman arrived at the AfriThrive free choice Mobile Food Pantry , where she walked among tables of carefully chosen offerings , selecting pumpkin leaves , okra , eggplant , and other fresh , familiar vegetables to take home and cook for her family . That moment was one of many when it was clear to Dr . Choti : “ I need to be out here fighting for families like this .”
“ We don ’ t give away any canned food ,” Dr . Choti says proudly . “ We want to provide food that when somebody comes , they think ‘ yes ! This is the right thing . I haven ’ t eaten this in a long time ’.”
Though AfriThrive , a “ small organization with a big mission and a big need in the community ,” was officially chartered in 2019 , its work began years earlier . As a PhD student and new immigrant from Kenya living in Silver Spring , Dr . Choti experienced the feelings of displacement and isolation common to many new arrivals to the United States . “ When immigrant families come to this country ,” she says , “ the first year here everyone wants to go back . It ’ s traumatizing . It ’ s overwhelming , they can ’ t find food , they can ’ t find the right job , it ’ s too much , it ’ s too fast . [ At AfriThrive ] we wanted to be that bridge to ease their transition .”
As a young mother new to the U . S ., Dr . Choti struggled to provide meals for her family that resonated with her cultural heritage and dietary preferences . “ The food was very unfamiliar ,” she recalls . “ I was tired of bringing dried vegetables from Kenya . I remember starting gardening , looking for a place that I could grow the food that I needed .” She quickly realized , however , that her garden provided far more in those overwhelming early days than healthy , familiar food . “ For me , gardening is therapy ,” she says . “ It takes me back to my childhood and I feel a sense of calmness when I ’ m at the garden harvesting the vegetables the way we used to harvest with mom .”
During the Covid-19 pandemic , AfriThrive staff stepped up with emergency aid for their neighbors and community members experiencing food insecurity . Dr . Choti called on her decade of experience in international development to mobilize resources and create systems to distribute large quantities of culturally appropriate food quickly . “ I knew the government had resources to help the people ,” she says , “[ but ] my community didn ’ t know the government could help . My community is a community that you don ’ t ask .... They think ‘ I don ’ t want people to know that I sleep hungry ,’ so they keep to themselves . I knew the script from the international space , and I knew it was going to apply . I ’ m going to write this email , I ’ m going to pick up this phone call , and it started working .”
Partners like DC Central Kitchen , Dr . Choti says , were more than willing to help AfriThrive assemble and give out boxes of fresh produce on a weekly basis at the height of the pandemic . Partnerships are still key to the way AfriThrive operates . Dr . Choti describes foundations and emergency food providers as “ the engine behind AfriThrive ” that have helped the little organization grow faster than they ever thought possible . “ We are pulled by the needs of the community ,” she says , “ but we also have support from the community to meet those needs .”
AfriThrive ’ s farm , on two acres of land in Poolesville , also served as a place of sanctuary and healing for the African immigrant community during the pandemic . Dr . Choti describes picking up a carload of women – some retired , some not working outside the home , some temporarily furloughed from their jobs — to take them to the farm to work . “ They didn ’ t want to leave ,” she says . Teaching community members to grow their
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