Boxing Boise’s Kindness
Photo by Marilyn Isaac Photography
City of Good goes to bat for food-insecure Idahoans
by Lex Nelson
Photo by Marilyn Isaac Photography
When Cathy Knipe was a little girl, walking “restaurant row” on Eighth Street in downtown Boise felt like absorbing the essence of home. Her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had walked the same sidewalk. Years later, she met her husband at Bittercreek Alehouse on Eighth.
When COVID-19 struck, her mind went immediately to the restaurants and bars that made Boise home. What would happen to them now?
She didn’t wait to find out. Instead, she left her job as sponsor liaison for Treefort Music Fest and joined the brand-new nonprofit City of Good (COG) as its very first staff member.
Photo by Marilyn Isaac Photography
“When I first stepped into City of Good, it was because I didn’t want to see downtown closing up shop. It means the world to me that I can walk my three daughters through those same streets that I walked and see that the same restaurants are still there,” she said.
From its start in April 2020 COG’s mission was to safeguard Boise’s food system and feed Idahoans at the same time. It helped the Boise Farmers Market pivot to a drive-through model and offered chef-created meals to shoppers. A portion of proceeds went to identical meals – what COG staff call “food with dignity” — offered for free to locals laid off or in isolation.
In June, COG pushed farther, partnering with the Boise School District to provide Weekend Fuel Kits to food-insecure kids. Each kit comes stuffed with six healthy meals cooked up by local restaurants like Bittercreek Alehouse, The Boise Co-op, The Brickyard, Fork, KIN, Roots Zero Waste Market, and The Wylder, all made with at least 30% local ingredients to support small farmers.
The pandemic continued to rage. So COG’s team added COVID Care Kits for the homeless in quarantine at Interfaith Sanctuary, launched a Box of Good catering program with sales contributing to the Weekend Fuel Kits, and pioneered a Refugee Support Program that connects Boise’s Afghan Refugees with familiar meals from Ishtar, Food Land Market, and Kabob House.
Photo by Marilyn Isaac Photography
In early February, Executive Director Britt Udesen spoke to us from her family farm in Canyon County, and said the Idaho Office For Refugees expected 400 refugees to settle in Boise that month. COG would provide 1,200 meals per week. That scale of giving wouldn’t be possible for Udesen, Knipe, and their staff alone.
“We have this amazing small army of mighty volunteers who call us up and say, ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’” said Knipe.
Going forward, COG hopes to channel that volunteer power into Weekend Fuel Kits for seniors and “advocating for a living wage for all Idahoans," Udesen said.
“The big mission for us is to mobilize businesses and community members into building a nourishing Boise for all,” she added. “So that is food, but it’s not just food. Keep an eye out for [more] ways we will be activating our community members in support of each other.”
Photo by Marilyn Isaac Photography
