Hi all,

A lot has happened this year, and we're here to update you on where F12 is at and what our future looks like! 

2022 saw the continuation of the return of the workforce, with various F12 movers and shakers taking on newer, bigger, (and even better!) roles than we saw before the pandemic. And while COVID-19 was a time full of hardship and trial, we are happy to see those within our organization catch their strides in a way that the stand-still of the pandemic aided - by allowing us to reflect on ourselves and the world around us and ultimately move in new directions. However, with this, there has been less time in our lives for community work. It is no coincidence that the people in this city who have a harder time gaining access to what they need also have more hurdles in the fight for it, even in mutual aid, and the irony not lost on us that we were able to accomplish SO much in 2020 when our most basic needs were taken care of.

But hope is not lost! Our passionate team doesn't give up so easily, and we have taken a lot of time this year to go back to the drawing board on how we can still function as F12 (because who said the only new skills we learned during the pandemic were bread-making).

We recently made the switch away from Patreon and joined Open Collective, which has been a great step for us but F12 did lose a LOT of Patreon supporters who contributed monthly to our little group. We will likely be supplementing with some grants in the next year to continue to do what we do, since a good chunk of the money we still have unfortunately has to be set aside to finish our taxes from 2020. Luckily Open Collective provides a stepping point for this, as fiscal sponsorship with them allows us to use their 501c3 status to apply for such grants. We'll still be trying to build back our individual donor base, so if anyone you know is in the giving spirit, send them our way!

Aligning our current financial situation with our current capacity, we have decided the best route forward is to take the rest of the winter off from cooking to continue our strategy planning, and to go down to one day a week of encampment delivery in the early spring. Our plan is to start small and work our way up as we are able, and as we secure funding. Any donations we get are still greatly appreciated during our hibernation period, and we may even be able to do some basic supply runs this winter with water, hand warmers and baked goods!

F12 would also still like to provide burrito support to our friends on the frontlines of movements for liberation in Minneapolis, and you'll see a spot on our page under the Projects section where you can donate specifically to that fund called Emergency Protest Response Food Support. We believe bringing food and water to protests builds solidarity across movements and helps sustain the causes worth fighting for. If you've had a burrito or two, or five, and would like to pay it forward, please do!

Like any good monologue coming to a close, we'd like to take this opportunity to shout out some of the other groups who are working for the people of our city: Southside Food Share, Community Kitchen, Southside Harm Reduction, and Inquilinxs Unidxs, who have had some major wins recently. We've also seen incredible organizing in encampments and want to honor that. The Sanctuary Supply Depot is still holding it down as a great spot to donate clean/washed goods like sleeping bags, tents, pillows, blankets, propane and warm clothing to be brought into camps around town, and if you live in the Twin Cities you can bring these items to Boneshaker Books Wed-Sun from 4-6 PM. We'll keep people posted on other supply drives as we hear of them on our Instagram - follow us there @f12pplskitchen!

F12 looks forward to continuing to make good quality food for our unhoused neighbors in 2023 and we thank you for continuing to believe in us! We'll have more updates for how to get involved in the near future.

Love,
F12PK