Meet Zymora! Zymora Davinchi joined the ShiftMeals fold back in May when she became a GrowTeam member at The Center for Grassroots Organizing in Marshfield, VT. She is now a ShiftMeals BIPOC Food Sovereignty Program Manager leading some dynamite initiatives and projects. One of which, we are pumped to announce more about tomorrow. So stay tuned!
What is your current role at ShiftMeals and what drew you to join the local initiative?
I am a ShiftMeals BIPOC Food Sovereignty Program Manager, which is a position that I share with my colleague and friend, Jaya Touma-Kajatt Shoatz. I focus on uplifting BIPOC-led initiatives within Vermont’s food system by building opportunities, community organizing, and leveraging Skinny Pancake‘s existing network and resources. However, before I took on this new position, I was farming on one of the ShiftMeals GrowTeams in Marshfield at The Center for Grassroots Organizing. We were growing veggies to help combat local food insecurity as a result of COVID-19, and also to donate some fresh produce to/in solidarity with Migrant Justice.
What partnerships or upcoming projects are you most excited about?
I am very, very excited about this six-part webinar series called A Force To Be Reckoned With: Womxn in Vermont’s Food System, that Sammy LeVine, our GrowTeam Manager, and I have been developing over the past couple of months. This webinar series will highlight the work and voices of killer Womxn and Femmes who help shape and define Vermont’s food system. We will be launching this webinar series at the beginning of September, so please lookout for more information on that!
What is your favorite vegetable and why?
Collard greens! I love collard greens because they make me feel at home. Every time I harvest, cook or eat collard greens with my family, I am reminded of who I am and where I come from. Collard greens represent one of my many prized, ancestral foods, a dish that was born from this country’s original sin and the scraps that my people were given, and yet they still went on to create such a delicious meal. Collards greens, much like the rest of Soul Food, symbolizes family, the diaspora, and resiliency.