An Interview with Dorchester Food Co-op’s New Director
We’re thrilled to welcome Christian Perry as the new Director of the Dorchester Food Co-op. Communications Team member Lynn Holmgren sat down with Christian on his first day on the job to get to know him a little more:
DFC: It’s your first day! Three words that describe your life as Project Manager so far.
CP: Exciting, hectic, visionary.
DFC: Visionary. That’s a big word for day one, but I guess that’s what day one is all about in a way.
CP: Yes. I’m seeing what’s possible and starting to interact with it.
DFC: What excites you about your new job with the Co-op?
CP: Well, I’m a community organizer, so my passion is building people power and doing that in ways that allow us to live out what we want our world to look like. And I see working with the Co-op as an opportunity for experimentation – with what it means to be community-centered, community-controlled, community-led, membership-owned. These are the types of principles that we’re always talking about, how can we start to live them out?
I’m excited for all of the possibilities of the Co-op and where it’s currently at on its journey. I’m looking forward to engaging more with the community, and reflecting the excitement I’ve gotten from the board and those I’ve met so far. It’s important to me that my work aligns with my values and principles so it feels great to join an organization that is in alignment with some of these principles.
DFC: You’ve touched a little bit on your organizing background. What past experiences will you draw on to fulfill your role as Director?
CP: A lot of my work has centered on managing community organizations, especially helping to build local capacity. I started organizing while in grad school at Brandeis – The Heller School – in 2014 and that skill set is something I will draw upon. I’ve worked in DC and along the Northeast Corridor, and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho (a country in Southern Africa). I’ve been quite nomadic, and I’m very used to being brought in on projects knowing I have to build relationships and gain trust. My time in the Peace Corps taught me to see language, cultural, and other barriers as opportunities for building deeper relationships. I’m really excited about Co-op outreach and bringing that community organizing context to it.
DFC: It’s interesting to hear you talking about yourself as an outsider, and the ways you see that as being an advantage. Can you talk a little more about that?
CP: Over the past couple of years I’ve really found myself in a position where people are coming to me – “Can you read this, look at this, help us figure out what’s next or what’s missing?” I think an outsider can offer new perspective because they’re not caught up in the lived history that comes with decisions and actions, and how that has affected the relationships of the people making those decisions. The outsider is able to communicate and bridge some of these relationships so things can keep moving forward. I come as a listener and a learner, and not someone who is trying to force something onto a group of folks. People are more apt to invest in something when they have those relationships and they feel like they’ve been seen and heard. As an outsider those are the first three things I try to get across to people: I hear you, I see you, and what can I offer to help?
DFC: What do you want people to know about the Dorchester Food Co-op?
CP: I think about a co-op as a place where hope can live. I think for communities living at many different intersections of identity, hope is like this…it can be a dangerous thing…but it can also be a powerful thing. The hope of something like: “I can have control and power along with other people and in ways that will allow us to shift other things in our community.” I think the Co-op is an opportunity to bring that hope and build community in a way that is powerful and can bring changes like better access to healthy food, and local economic development. Experimentation is a big part of this process and we know we will mess up sometimes, but we’re going to continue to listen and have the community hold us to that. And hopefully we can all exercise patience and grace through the process. Oh, and also – JOIN!
DFC: What kind of food did you grow up eating?
CP: My parents worked a lot, so I remember popcorn, I remember spaghetti, and frozen pot pies – I love pot pies. For more time consuming meals we would have my Dad’s sausage and cornbread stuffing, my Mom’s macaroni and cheese, her lasagna, and peach cobbler. Lots of tomato soup at my Grandmother’s house, whenever I was sick she would make that. She was a great cook – lots of ham hocks and turkey legs, greens and cabbage in her kitchen.
DFC: What are some of your hobbies?
CP: I really enjoy sitting still outside. So a hobby of mine is to find a green space or just a neighborhood corner and observe – not so much people watching, but just enjoying being outdoors. I’m always reading something and watching movies. I also love cooking and eating – can eating be a hobby? I think it’s a hobby, yeah.
DFC: Anything else you’d like to share with the Co-op community?
CP: I’m an uncle, a brother, a son, and a friend to many people. I’m very passionate about community and being in community; I let my values and principles lead me. Four of my main values are grace, patience, honesty, and deep relationships. I always come back to these four to help guide me in any decision making.