The Power of Mutual Aid in Disordered Eating Recovery: An Interview with Elizabeth Ayiku, Founder and Director of Me Little Me Foundation
I’ve spent years advocating for the needs of fat, Black, disabled, and marginalized people who are so often erased from conversations about health and healing. One truth I’ve witnessed over and over again is that survival comes first. It comes before systemic change, before dreaming and visioning, and before meeting any long-term goals. Survival, in our communities, has always been rooted in mutual aid.
It's because of this that I was so grateful to connect with my good friend and co-conspirator, Elizabeth Ayiku, Founder/Director of Me Little Me Foundation and writer/director of the film, Me Little Me. Elizabeth’s work is a living testament to the power of direct cash assistance and dignity-centered support in recovery from disordered eating. Our conversation explored the intersections of food insecurity, recovery, and community care, and why mutual aid is not just helpful but life-saving.
Can you share a bit of your personal journey? What experiences led you to found Me Little Me Foundation?
Elizabeth: I made a film about my own experience recovering from an eating disorder called Me Little Me. While finishing the film in 2021, I saw how many people in my community were struggling without support, especially Black and Brown folks I knew. The Foundation came from wanting to build the kind of resource I always wished I had while in recovery.
Angel: As someone who has also fought for resources in the margins, I know how deeply that resonates. Building what you didn’t have is such a powerful act of care and resistance. I can directly relate.
How did your struggles with food insecurity and eating disorders shape your vision for creating this foundation?
Elizabeth: I realized how well I was doing in my recovery was always tied to whether I could afford food. It was hard to focus on healing my relationship with food when I didn’t have money to buy groceries. That reality is what shaped Me Little Me Foundation’s vision. I didn’t just want to give out boxes of food; I wanted a model rooted in dignity, choice, and cultural competence.
Angel: That point about dignity really struck me. Too often, traditional aid takes away people’s autonomy instead of protecting it.
When you think back to the time when you didn’t have access to money for food, what do you wish had existed for you then?
Elizabeth: I wish there had been a system where I didn’t have to prove I was “deserving” of help. Traditional food pantries are often full of restrictions, limited options, and straight judgment. What I needed was something that trusts and allows folks to choose how they want to nourish themselves, even though they’re getting food for free.
Angel: That trust-centered approach feels radical because so many of us have been forced into proving our worthiness.
Your film Me Little Me captures so many of the struggles you’ve lived through. How does the foundation’s work connect to the story you told in your film?
Elizabeth: Still working a 9 to 5 job while actively in recovery is not a narrative seen in films, but that’s the reality for most Black and Brown folks. The majority of us can’t just drop everything and check into residential treatment. Me Little Me Foundation is about making sure people in already marginalized bodies have access to support based on their current lived realities.
Angel: I love how your work shows that healing has to happen alongside everyday survival.
What role does storytelling play in helping people understand why initiatives like the virtual food pantry are so essential?
Elizabeth: I always say that I like to show rather than tell. I wanted people to see exactly what it looks like for a Black woman trying to recover, while not being able to just drop everything to do so, all while dealing with everyday societal issues. Having access to groceries during this time can literally be the difference between barely surviving and actually being able to heal.
Angel: Storytelling makes those struggles visible in ways numbers and reports never could.
Many people hear “mutual aid” and think it’s just charity, but you’ve emphasized that it’s something different. How do you define mutual aid?
Elizabeth: We use a mutual aid model because unlike charity, mutual aid is rooted in community taking care of each other. For Black and Brown folks who’ve not had access to any culturally competent formal systems of care, mutual aid has been our survival.
Angel: That survival piece is so important, because this is about life and death, not charity.
Why is direct cash assistance without strings attached such an important part of the foundation’s virtual food pantry model?
Elizabeth: Direct cash assistance is about restoring dignity and trust. We provide groceries without conditions. We’re not just meeting needs, we’re challenging the narrative that poor people cannot make decisions for themselves!
Angel: That emphasis on trust changes everything. When we stop pathologizing people’s needs and start trusting their choices, we begin to dismantle oppressive systems at their root.
What misconceptions do people often have about giving money directly to those in need?
Elizabeth: One of the biggest misconceptions is that people will waste it or use the money irresponsibly. That stereotype has been used for generations to justify restricting aid to BIPOC communities to maintain control over how resources flow.
Angel: That stereotype has harmed our people for far too long, and it’s time we name it for what it is. It's control.
How does the Me Little Me Foundation’s virtual food pantry work on a practical level?
Elizabeth: People apply online and once someone is approved, they put together a list of grocery items. We place the order through local stores, and the groceries are delivered straight to their home. This removes barriers like lack of transportation and zip code limits, while also allowing folks to choose foods that meet cultural needs.
Angel: That’s such a thoughtful model, because it removes barriers and centers real choice.
You’ve talked about how Black women and other oppressed groups are underrepresented in eating disorder and food insecurity conversations. How does the pantry push back against that invisibility?
Elizabeth: Black women and other marginalized groups have always experienced food insecurity at higher rates, but we’ve been erased from the public conversation. The pantry actively prioritizes our voices, not as an afterthought, but as the heart of the work.
Angel: Centering our voices at the heart of the work is the only way forward.
Why do traditional systems like government programs, nonprofits, even healthcare, often fail people who look like us or live at our intersections?
Elizabeth: These systems were never designed with us in mind. Government programs are full of gatekeeping and strict eligibility rules that disqualify the people in need the most. Nonprofit orgs also often replicate models that strip people of choice and dignity. That is why our model is based on community care and mutual aid.
Angel: Exactly. We cannot expect justice from systems never built for us.
How does building mutual aid networks address those gaps in a way that’s more liberatory and inclusive?
Elizabeth: Mutual aid networks bypass bureaucracy and put decision-making power back in the hands of the community. Instead of waiting for institutions that have historically ignored us, we create our own systems of care.
Angel: That’s the kind of liberation that gives people room to breathe.
What are the biggest challenges of sustaining mutual aid in this form?
Elizabeth: We rely on grassroots fundraising, monthly donors, and community partners. Traditional nonprofits usually have big donors and huge institutional backing. A mutual aid model relies on everyday community members giving what they can. It really is amazing, but at this time the need is greater than the resources we receive.
Angel: The need always outweighs the resources, but the beauty is in how community keeps showing up.
How do you balance the immediate need for survival with the longer-term vision of systemic change?
Elizabeth: Survival has to come first, because no one can join the fight for systemic change if they’re hungry or sick. Meeting immediate needs stabilizes people enough to imagine a future beyond crisis. At the same time, we’re always connecting that direct relief to the bigger picture and to conversations about food justice, racial equity, and systemic reform.
Angel: Survival and systemic change are not separate, they are deeply connected.
If you imagine the future of Me Little Me Foundation, what do you hope it looks like in five years?
Elizabeth: In five years, I envision the Me Little Me Foundation scaling our pantry up so we can serve even more families more often. I also hope we’ll be employing folks with lived experience to create programs that merge direct aid with systemic advocacy. I want our model to serve as proof that dignity-centered aid is possible and should be replicated nationwide.
Angel: That vision feels both urgent and achievable with the right support.
As someone who has lived this struggle, how does it feel to now be in a position to offer support through mutual aid?
Elizabeth: When I place grocery orders, I think back a lot to when I was struggling and couldn’t find any assistance. It was so frustrating and isolating. But running the virtual pantry I feel like I’m bringing to life the kind of support I always wished was there.
Angel: What a powerful full-circle moment.
What do you want people who have never worried about money for food to understand about this work?
Elizabeth: What I want them to understand is that food insecurity isn’t about personal failure or bad choices. It’s about systemic inequities that go back generations. Policies like disinvestment in Black neighborhoods, redlining, and lack of universal healthcare all create conditions where people can work full-time and still not have basic needs met.
Angel: That truth is critical, because too many people still cling to the myth of personal failure.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Elizabeth: I just want to say thank you so much to all our current partners and all the everyday folks who’ve contributed to Me Little Me Foundation. You are the reason we’re able to do what we do!
Angel: Thank YOU, Elizabeth. The work you do is absolutely appreciated and vital, but also thankless and sacrificial. I know exactly how that feels and I'm so grateful we can hold each other up in solidarity. It's our superpower!
Elizabeth Ayiku is the Founder/ Director of the Me Little Me Foundation and the writer/director of the film Me Little Me. She is a dedicated advocate for Black and Brown communities navigating recovery and food insecurity, and she leads with a vision rooted in dignity, cultural competence, and community care.
IG: @melittlemefoundation | @melittlemefilm
Email: elizayiku@gmail.com
