Dear ICA Community,
Last year, ICA was in the midst of celebrating our 50th anniversary. It was a year of reflection for many of us within the organization, as we acknowledged how much we had grown and expanded since our founding in 1971. As we turn our attention to the next 50 years of service, we recognize how much our community continues to change as we emerge from the pandemic.
Unfortunately, the need for resources has not waned, offering new challenges that provide us an opportunity to rethink our approach and strategically redefine access to meet the needs of people and families closer to where they live and work.
To put it plainly, we have an obligation to change in accordance with the community around us.
As we strive to provide the very best services to our neighbors, we feel it's time to update our image to better reflect our overall resources and community outreach efforts.
More than ever, we’re aspiring to become a true community organization, where all neighbors in need are welcome and surrounded by people who care and want to help.
For us it means opening food markets and resource centers right inside local schools, so parents and kids can get food and other assistance without having to plan an extra trip outside their daily routine.
It means expanding mobile deliveries to service homebound seniors, neighbors with disabilities and community members who lack access to reliable transportation.
It means expanding our interpreter services so non-English speaking families can feel welcomed and comfortable with ICA.
And it means emphasizing ICA’s other services like employment assistance, homelessness prevention and community referrals, which connect people and families with what they need to thrive.
Please know that we will never abandon our central food shelf and the goal of making the experience like shopping in your local grocery store.
I couldn’t be more proud of the entire ICA community as we embark on this new and exciting era of service.
With gratitude,
ICA Executive Director Dan Narr
(Want to learn more about this announcement? Watch our launch video here!)