Gemma Levy

I joined SSF at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed to me the deep-seated social inequalities that afflict my different communities—including my food-allergic community. This global crisis coincided with my transition into adulthood, and spurred in me a desire to both found and become a part of initiatives that better the world I am maturing into. These endeavors have come to inform the person that I am, and the ways in which I interface with the world around me. 

Moio—the social enterprise I founded that broadens the market reach of Zimbabwean artisan communities and provides disadvantaged women business and vocational training—is how I sought to mitigate pandemic-induced economic hardship for my closest community. Zimbabwean myself, I have watched women who previously lacked the tools, resources and confidence to attain financial security become empowered by their own potential. 

After getting Moio off the ground, a close friend and original SSF member, Sydney Hankin, informed me of her work helping the food-allergic community—which I am indeed a member of—access safe food. Realizing that there was much work to be done on the domestic front, I asked if I could join the initiative. I offered the marketing knowledge I had gained starting my own business, but received so much more. Seeing the inner workings of Securing Safe Food, being a member of such an incredible team of young women, has been such an incredible learning experience.