Community Member Profile: Alice and Bill
Q&A with Bill Lowery and Alice Petersen, dedicated members of both 12 Baskets and Givens Communities!
How long have you been a part of Asheville Poverty Initiative and how did you first come to hear about us?
We moved to Asheville in August 2016. On our second Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, we heard guest preacher Shannon Spencer talk about API and the newly opening 12 Basket’s Café. We were hooked and came on board as Companions. That was more than nine years ago, and we love what API and 12 B is all about in building community and standing for justice.
How has your perspective of poverty/homelessness/food insecurity/etc in our community changed since becoming involved?
Two phrases ring in our ears that we have heard repeatedly at 12 Baskets. THERE IS ENOUGH! and IT IS A JUSTICE ISSUE! We love to tell the story to others and always incorporate those two messages.
In what way do you use your time, talents, or treasure to support Asheville Poverty Initiative and 12 Baskets Cafe?
Over the years our roles have shifted. We started as Companions, serving food, washing dishes, eating and conversing with neighbors. Then, as residents, we helped Givens Estates Retirement Community make the commitment to rescue all its left-over meals and share them with 12 Baskets. So, for the past 9 years, almost every week on Fridays, we pick up and deliver the food from Givens. We also love being Companion volunteers on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and every month we give financially to API to show our love for this organization.
What do you believe are the biggest obstacles to ending poverty in our community, or the best solutions?
Socially, it is building community across differences. Structurally and systemically, it is shaping the political will to do justice for all. Spiritually, it is steady transformation to love our neighbors as ourselves while walking humbly with God.
What is your best memory of your time with our organization?
Many little moments: “Welcome, y’all. There is enough. It is a justice issue.”
Lyn in a cow onesie. Washing dishes with Bobbie and Steve. Advised by Thorn where to get my tattoo. Going on a Realities of Hunger walk with “Poverty Scholars” educating us. Folks streaming out of 12 Baskets to willingly carry pans of donated food inside. Kacia, at Givens Estates Dining, who organizes all their rescued food, freezes it in pans, and loves 12 Baskets from a distance. Donna, graciously, quietly organizing all the food reception, storage, menu building, and prep, and then serving everyone, never seeking attention. Ben, dreaming, creating, leading, serving, and seeking ways to fill a bigger space for API’s future. More. More. More.
