FACES OF CHANGE: WHITNEY PASTOREK
March 15, 2022
Remarks made to the Metro Council of Davidson County at Pre-Budget Public Meeting
Hello, my name is Whitney Pastorek, and I am a proud resident of District 5. Thank you for the opportunity to give comment.
In my humble opinion, and echoing the remarks of everyone who came before me tonight, after nearly a decade of life as “IT CITY,” Nashville has lost sight of the city that IS. By prioritizing tourism and future development at every turn, we are not doing enough to care for the people who already make Nashville great.
And the same cost of living crunch causing individual residents to struggle is also having a tragic impact on the small non-profit organizations whose missions center around lifting up our struggling neighbors.
In the past three months, we’ve seen two vital organizations – The Little Pantry That Could and People Loving Nashville – face the loss of their operational spaces due to development. While People Loving Nashville is ok for right now, the Little Pantry – which provides groceries, hot meals, and wraparound services to 300 families each week in North Nashville – has officially succumbed to the real estate market. They will permanently close their doors at the end of this month. To lose organizations like the Little Pantry is to lose our final safety net. The time to act is now.
My proposal today, developed in collaboration with a whole lot of smart people, is not formal, but it is simple: I’m requesting funding to build a Community Care Center in North Nashville, a permanent facility providing operational space for organizations dedicated to mitigating food/housing insecurity and providing relief/wraparound services in Davidson County, so they can stop worrying about making rent and stay focused on caring for those they’re called to serve.
Casa Asafrán and The McGruder Family Resource Center are all the proof you need that this model can work. Residents can walk through their doors and access any number of services and orgs dedicated to community care and enrichment. But anyone who’s spent time at McGruder especially knows how badly that facility is bursting at the seams. North Nashville needs and deserves a second community hub. Our people need an uncomplicated bridge to resources of survival.
It is time to use our resources to build something that will put Nashville in the national lead, not just in tourism or growth, but in compassion, collaboration, and community. Let’s put our money where our values are.
There’s a lot more to my idea, but two minutes isn’t a lot of time. A thorough version of this proposal will be delivered to the American Rescue Plan committee as soon as notes from all of the stakeholders have been incorporated, and I look forward to speaking with each of you individually to solicit your feedback as well.
Thank you for your consideration and for your service to Nashville.
Whitney Pastorek is a neighborhood advocate and community organizer who currently serves as the Nashville Project Lead for World Central Kitchen.