Longtime San Luis Obispo nonprofit, Grassroots II, has dissolved, but another organization is now taking its place.
Maxine Lewis founded Grassroots II in 1968. Lewis championed for the underprivileged and underserved in San Luis Obispo up until her death in 1988. Peggy Fowler took over as executive director, working to carry on Lewis' legacy ever since.
“There's nothing like being heard and people decades later say, that woman [Lewis] saved my life,” Fowler said about her friend.
But in late 2024, Grassroots II was dissolved with Fowler citing financial difficulties and the inability to fully reach the population in need of their services.
“It's a very long journey," she explained. "Unfortunately, we're fighting the same things today as we fought 50 years ago.”
Fowler cited high costs of living and healthcare as making it difficult for many people to even put food on the table.
In March, a new non-profit, SLO Grassroots, made up of many of the same members that were involved with Grassroots II, stepped in to bring back some of the previous organization's staples, like the Thanksgiving dinner that served 2,000 people last year and the food and clothing pantry serving 30 people a day.
“Those were people who mostly lived in the downtown area and they weren't eating any other way except through Grassroots," explained Heather Todd, SLO Grassroots Board Chair.
According to Todd, it costs $10,000 to provide those Thanksgiving meals and $1,000 per month to rent out the space for the food and clothing pantry. She says that so far, they’ve raised $5,000 since March between an Elk’s Lodge grant and other donations.
“We'll be ramping up in terms of fundraising this year," Todd said. "We do have a significant number of donors in the community who have come to the table, but we are not quite anywhere near our goal yet.”
Todd added, “At SLO Grassroots, our mission is to carry on Maxine Lewis' vision of feeding and clothing for our members of our own community here in San Luis Obispo."
“We tried to see people were fed. We tried to see that they were warm, and that legacy lives on," Fowler added.
In addition to providing Thanksgiving dinner, Todd said the top priority for the new organization is funding and finding a permanent home for an office. If you'd like to donate to SLO Grassroots, you can visit their website.
