Ed Fowler is the Executive Director of Neighbors Together, a soup kitchen and community center committed to ending hunger and poverty in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville community in Brooklyn.

Their mission is deeply grounded in their belief in the dignity and potential of each person. Since 1982 they have been fighting hunger on three levels through their daily soup kitchen alleviates the immediate crisis by providing hot, nutritious meals to 300 people a day; their range of social services address the struggles which go hand-in-hand with hunger: unemployment, lack of education, homelessness, addiction, inadequate health care; and their neighborhood-directed advocacy and community development efforts strive to transform social structures that result in poverty and hunger.

Ed first came to Neighbors Together in 1992 as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He had just graduated from college and wanted to spend a year working full-time for social justice. The people he encountered at Neighbors Together changed his life. “My connections with them opened my eyes to the reality of oppression in our country. I learned how harsh, unfair and unnecessary poverty is, and I learned that overcoming poverty requires a diverse approach,” says Ed.

That’s what drew him back to Neighbors Together two years ago in the role of Executive Director. Their philosophy is that providing meals is critical, but by itself is not enough. Providing social service support is critical, but not enough. Policy advocacy is critical, but they can’t ignore the real and immediate suffering of the many hungry people in our community. So they try to address all three aspects of fighting hunger.

Ed says that, “HANNYS has been extremely helpful to us in this fight. As a small organization that needs to feed and support a large volume people, we rely on HANNYS to do the research and organizing necessary to adequately address hunger at a policy level.”

“All of the HANNYS activities we have participated in over the past year, from regional meetings to on-site education about how the state budget works to a lobbying trip to Albany, have inspired a sense of hope that we’re not alone in the fight against hunger and that change is possible.”

Making the trip to Albany in March to speak out about the unfair state budget was a high point for many at Neighbors Together. Anne Serrano, one of the 13 members of their group, said, “I found going to Albany rewarding. It reminded me of our civil rights – we have them as long as we fight to keep them.”

“I’m tired of this administration balancing the budget on the backs of the poor,” added Bernice Lovett. “People that are needy, we don’t have a lot of money to donate to their campaigns. We’re just not important to them.”

Robert Lattimore agreed. “It goes to show that people have to get out and talk to these politicians. You have a voice, and your voice has to be heard.”
Ed is proud to work at Neighbors Together with passionate, concerned people like Anne, Bernice and Robert. And he’s proud to be a member of HANNYS because of our strong stance on creating a just New York where everyone has the resources to feed themselves.

Past "Faces"

Jon Greenbaum

Br. Michael Harlan

WELFARE MADE A DIFFERENCE- INVESTING IN PEOPLE TO END POVERTY

These are the stories of real people from across New York State who have struggled to move out of poverty with the help of welfare. Many of these individuals are Hunger Action Network members, including Board members. Their experiences, told in their own words, provide evidence of what really helps families and individuals. The Welfare Made A Difference National Campaign seeks to educate the public on the virtues of a fair, supportive social welfare system and the harmful impacts of punitive welfare policies.

Investing in people can make a difference in their lives.

Investing in people is money well spent.

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