Being innovative means thinking outside of the box. It means being creative and bold. In the ministry of a layperson, it means going where the church has not always been or is sometimes unwilling to be. Being innovative is transformative. What makes Hansen’s ministry innovative is her willingness to listen to the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the community. Then she finds the assets within the community itself to help it transform.

The All People’s Fresh Market does just that, and Hansen describes it as the “hallmark of the Healthy Eating and Living program,” which gives away about 2 million pounds of fresh produce each year. It is the largest distributor of free food in the state of Ohio, which is all healthy food.

“People want to eat healthy,” Hansen said. “They come to us when they could go to a more traditional pantry that’s giving out canned goods and nonperishables, and that’s all fine, but we find that people choose to come to our fresh market.”

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This episode originally appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of response, the award winning magazine from United Methodist Women.

Visit www.UnitedMethodistWomen.org to find out more.