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Meet our Muse - Asmeret: A Visionary Feeding Change

January 28, 2025

Meet our Muse - Asmeret: A Visionary Feeding Change

When we were casting for our Tinted Moisturizer Dewy photoshoot, we wanted to use real women who inspired us. We chose Asmeret to be in our campaign because she is a visionary and a socially driven entrepreneur. A New Yorker born in Eritrea and raised in Sweden, Asmeret’s resilience, heart, and an innate drive to create a community have changed the game. New York is a city where those in need can be easily overlooked. However, Asmeret is making sure the city's most vulnerable are not only seen, but also helped. 

From Immigrant Experience to Changemaker

Having come to Sweden as a child, Asmeret carried with her the memories and struggles of immigrant life. Her deep understanding of what it means to be invisible and isolated would go on to fuel her passion in building inclusive communities.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when New York City came to a halt, Asmeret’s eyes were opened to the alarming levels of food insecurity in her beloved city. “I knew I had to do something,” she recalls. “I couldn’t just sit by and watch. The city needed something that wasn’t just about charity, but about people coming together.”

One Love was born from Asmeret's sense of urgency and compassion. This community-driven initiative began with a single fridge stocked by Asmeret’s family. 

The Rise of One Love: From Fridges to Food Security

One Love, formally founded in 2019, has grown exponentially since. The humble act of kindness has now grown into a robust network of 22 fridges across New York City. Thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, pantry staples, and cooked meals are distributed to New Yorkers in need every week, no questions asked.

The 
collective collaborates with the local farms, restaurants, and even corporate stakeholders like Sakara and Gorillas. Most impressive, though, is that it's a community of over 100 volunteers behind the operation, dedicated to keeping the fridges filled and an umbrella of solidarity that spans across the five boroughs.

The fridges are stocked daily with fresh food, ensuring that anyone who needs food, no matter their background or situation, can find sustenance. For Asmeret, this is a personal mission. “Food insecurity isn’t just a logistical problem—it’s a symptom of much larger systemic issues,” she explains. “The goal is to provide not just food but dignity. To let people know that we see them and that we care.”

And it's working. Asmeret's vision has not only fed thousands, but it has redefined what it means to care for a community in the most basic yet deepest sense: sharing, cooperation, and openness.

Building a Culture of Collective Care

Yet Asmeret's work does not end with food security. She is the co-founder of Black Beauty Club, an enterprise that tackles social issues affecting Black communities, specifically representation, mental health, and empowerment. One Love and Black Beauty Club demonstrate Asmeret's special talent for developing projects that do not only address current needs but seek to transform cultural narratives.

Her work with Black Beauty Club, which speaks to beauty, identity, and well-being, is dedicated to providing a platform to Black voices and artists and finding out what beauty—and empowerment—really are. The club gathers creatives, activists, and thinkers for discussion on everything from self-care to the complexities of race and identity and builds a community where Black voices are valued and celebrated.

A Model for the Future: Redefining Social Impact

Asmeret's model is elegantly human. She creates systems that are open, inclusive, and sustainable. Her leadership is empowering others—whether that is the volunteers who prepare the food or the people who show up to the discussions at Black Beauty Club. She creates spaces where people can see one another, support one another, and most importantly, be seen.

The Future Is One Love

Within a few brief years, Asmeret has transitioned from a woman with a grand vision to a leader who has revolutionized the way New York—and the world at large—thinks about food insecurity, community, and social responsibility.

One Love's success is not just a success for Asmeret, but also a testament to what occurs when ordinary people come together to make a difference. It is no wonder that Asmeret B. is rapidly becoming one of New York's most innovative social entrepreneurs. Fueled by a combination of tenacious determination, compassion, and outside-the-box thinking, she's demonstrating that solutions in the community aren't just a possibility—they're the future.