Ashleigh Doub, 2019-2020

Ashleigh serves on the advisory board of a coalition of food pantries known as Faith Hope and Love and is a dispute mediator with the Catholic Worker Community in Indianapolis.  Her commitment to service is directly related to her life experiences and her passion for culinary arts.  “My social justice journey started in an unpredictable place: a fine dining restaurant that averages $45 a plate,” Ashleigh writes:

“I began cooking professionally at the age of fifteen and when I moved to Indianapolis to attend Butler, I logically continued that path. In the fall of 2017, the restaurant I was working at closed unexpectedly. This led to my discovery of Second Helpings, where I was able to use my culinary skills as the assistant manager of the hunger relief kitchen. This position allowed me to utilize my fine dining culinary skills to bring delicious and nutritious food to 4,000 people who were hungry in Indianapolis every day. During my time at Butler, I have experienced food insecurity. This experience made my passion for fighting food insecurity stronger. Hungry people are people. Hungry people are people who need food. These two simple sentences are the driving force behind my personal service mission. We can’t ignore the human dignity of the individuals who are hungry by solely providing nutrition. We must see them. We must acknowledge WHO they are as people, and not simply as the basal needs for their body. I am a service-minded individual, because marginalized people don’t always have the ability to fight the conditions that are impressed upon them. When I was food insecure a few months ago, I was focused on feeding my family. I was focused on the necessities, and I couldn’t expend any energy to anything else. Now, I have the time and the energy. I have the ability to advocate for those who don’t have the means to advocate for themselves or right along side those who do. I am a service-minded individual, because I care about people. I think people matter.”