Adriana Hutchings – The Story of a Mom Rising

adriana hutchings momsrising.org
Adriana Hutchings shares a moment with her family. Photo Credit: Fans of Once Upon a Time
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By Nikki McCoy

Capitol City Honda sponsorWalking in the door, latte in hand, Adriana Hutchings looks just like the woman I’ve always known as my neighbor – usually driving by in her mini-van, blonde bangs swooped to the side, her backseat full of kids. Perpetually on the go, Adriana seems to always have time for a smile and a wave.

But today, her husband is tending to their three children, so she and I can talk about her involvement with MomsRising.org, an organization, which, according to their website, “Is a network of people just like you, united by the goal of building a more family-friendly America.”

adriana hutchings momsrising.org
Adriana Hutchings shares a moment with her family. Photo Credit: Fans of Once Upon a Time

Formed in 2006 by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising now has more than a million members. According to the organization’s Facebook page, these are the core issues that are at the base of their grassroots movement:

M – Maternity/Paternity Leave

O – Open Flexible Work

T – Toxics-Free Environment (environmental health)

H – Health Care for All Kids

E – Early Care and Education

R – Realistic and Fair Wages

S – Sick Days, Paid

From meetings with politicians, to press from Huffington Post, Seattle Weekly and more, and a rash of celebrity backers joining the team, MomsRising has garnered national attention.

McDonalds and Wendy’s have been ambushed by the non-profit organization, leading them to change their default drink in kid’s meals from soda to milk, and the push is on for other fast food joints to follow suit. Next, MomsRising is challenging Nickelodeon to stop advertising junk food to children.

adriana hutchings momsrising
McDonald’s and Wendy’s have both pulled soda as their default drink in kid’s meals thanks to MomsRising.org.

Nutrition is a huge component to MomsRising, and at a local level, Adriana plans to work with Olympia School District to stay on track with their school lunch program.

“I am a part of the MomsRising Good Food Force and am committed to making a difference for all children in our community,” she explains, “There are many children who eat hot lunch at school. I want to make sure that what they are getting is quality, nutritious food. My goal is to look over the OSD food guidelines (which are actually quite wonderful) and help them to really follow them.”

MomsRising members are known for shaking things up at politically, like delivering a giant 3-D valentine to Governor Inslee, covered with messages from families across the state thanking him for his commitment to early childhood education. Or the hundreds of kites strewn with messages telling Congress what’s important to American families, or the lunch sacks delivered to congressional offices reminding them to keep healthy food guidelines in mind when making laws.

“Instead of nagging them to death, we deliver messages of importance that are fun and positive, and gets people attention,” says Adriana.

While it was 2008 when Adriana made the choice to tell her story, and become involved with MomsRising, her journey to activism began as a child.

“All my life I felt things very deeply,” she explains. “When I would hear about a school shooting, or an incidence of child abuse, or an injustice in the world, I would feel deeply upset. My mother even joked when I was younger that we needed to build me a ‘wailing wall.’ I had all these feelings and just did not know what to do with them.”

And then, as an adult, injustices began happening to her. While working as a server during college, Adriana experienced wage discrimination. Then, with her first child born with special needs, her battle with cancer, and the sandwich-generation’s work of caring for her mother, her family went through difficult financial challenges. Later, after the birth of her third child, she would experience maternity leave discrimination.

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Adriana Hutchings (left) and Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America at the MomsRising Good Food Force meeting in Washington, D.C. this past November.

“I think I was waiting for a long, long time to find a vehicle that would help me to make a difference,” she reflects. “When I came across an email from MomsRising one day, something clicked. I had found my vehicle for change.”

What started with a few petition signatures, turned to a spot on the advisory board and hosting meetings for MomsRising, to speaking at the elbows of Senator Patty Murray and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene.

Adriana remembers the moment she realized she was a voice for other women.

“I think it came after my first talk at the Women’s Equal Pay Forum in Kirkland,” she says. “I was invited to speak by MomsRising.org and I had no idea what it was going to be like.

“There I was, speaking to a group of state and federal legislators, leaders in the business community, and press…and people were riveted by my story,” Adriana reflects.  “I had long discounted my story as something that just happens – no big deal. But I realized that many people have stories like that and even though it’s the status quo, we need to tell our stories and create a positive movement out of that energy. It can and will create change for the better.”

This mentality has momentum, and Adriana has no plans of stopping. Next in the works is a red-carpet affair at the Capitol to bring attention to early childhood education, and a local screening of Cafeteria Man to facilitate discussion about nutrition.

To join Adriana, contact her at Adriana.Hutchings@gmail.com and be sure to visit www.MomsRising.org.

 

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