Welcome, Benita!
From the moment she walks in the door – or jumps onto a zoom call – her positivity fills the room. She has never met a stranger and sees potential in everyone. Meet Benita, our newest Food Rescue Dispatcher.
I had the joy of getting to know Benita before coming to Last Mile as both a friend and a co-worker. In the summer of 2019, as we walked down the sidewalk of downtown Cincinnati, Benita lit up and started painting a picture of her dream of a food secure city. “Imagine if you lived on this street and you didn’t have a car,” she said. “Where would you get reasonably priced fresh fruits and vegetables? Food deserts shouldn’t exist anymore, and I think there’s a solution by providing good, fresh food in small pop-up grocery stores around the city. I want to make that happen.” We beamed at the idea, dreaming up ways to bring it to life.
Though she’s not launching new grocery stores in corner shops (yet), Benita joins the Last Mile team excited to dive into the mission of tackling food insecurity in Cincinnati by supporting existing non-profit efforts. Since adolescence she has pursued opportunities to make an impact on her community & has always had a deep passion for making good, healthy food accessible to all. Now she’ll continue in this journey by helping connect potential food donors to our Food Rescue operations.
Benita’s passion for healthy living goes beyond food. She is a believer in the benefits of a plant-based diet, meditation, and whole-person healthy living. She eats up books on mindfulness and nutrition. Her current favorite? “Stress Less, Accomplish More” by Emily Fletcher. She finds rejuvenation through being intentional about giving your mind and body the rest and nutrients it needs.
Through all her passions & talents, Benita’s greatest strength & motivator is people. Benita builds trust among her network through genuine connection and listening. Reflecting on working with the Cincy community to end food waste, Benita says, “Instead of us working as transactional relationships, we need to work together as a unit and as a community to solve a common goal.”
Welcome to the team, Benita!
-Written by Olivia Cook