Welcome Reception for Jason Jakubowski

Please join us on Thursday, September 14th  for a welcome reception for our new President & CEO, Jason Jakubowski.

RSVP to Linda by September 10 by email or call 806-856-4312

Foodshare Appoints New President & CEO

Today Foodshare announced that Jason Jakubowski has been chosen as our new President & CEO. Jason will begin at Foodshare on Monday, July 31. He currently serves as Vice President of External Relations at Hospital for Special Care (HSC) in Hartford and New Britain.

Jason brings over 15 years of experience in public health, public affairs, nonprofit leadership, and community relations to the position.  His appointment comes after a nationwide search of candidates by Foodshare’s Transition Committee and Board of Directors.
   
 “Jason is a recognized leader and builder of community partnerships with a lifelong dedication to tackling the issues of hunger, poverty, literacy, personal health, and job retention,” said Tom Buckingham, Foodshare Board Chair.“He is well-prepared to execute Foodshare’s mission of leading an informed, coordinated response to hunger in our community.”

Read the full press release >>

Ice Cream Social at the State Capitol

Foodshare President James Arena-DeRosa joined several State Legislators and Foodshare e-Advocates for ice cream and a discussion on the topic of hunger in our state. James stressed the need for finding new and innovative ways to solve the problems facing state residents, particularly strong food policy.

Also joining the event were allies in the fight against hunger from the Department of Social Services, Department of Agriculture, Jewish Federation Association of CT, African-American Affairs Commission and End Hunger CT!

Arena-DeRosa was introduced by State Representative Brian Becker. Brian has been actively involved with Foodshare for 25 years as a Board member, co-captain of the legislative Walk Against Hunger team and a strong champion for getting federal SNAP dollars earmarked for CT to residents who qualify.

Board of Directors "retreat"

Yesterday afternoon and evening, Foodshare's Board of Directors met in a "retreat" format with facilitator Simone Joyaux to spend some time focusing on what the Board's role is and what governance really means.

Feedback I've heard today suggests that people came away even more excited about their volunteer work at Foodshare and about the future we are trying to build!

Board members Beth Henry, Gerry Waldo, and Joe Gianni
talk with Development Director Wendy Kohn

Board member Desiree Barthololmew and Board Chair Leslie Soler
review some of the discussion notes from the retreat

Teamwork

This morning was one of those times when, as President of this organization, there were three different places that I could have been, all of which were important to Foodshare.

But we had it covered:

I attended and took part in the Governance and Nominating Committee of Foodshare's Board of Directors.  The charge for this committee names me as its secretary and advisor and also says it is the most important committee in the organization for both roles of ensuring good governance and recruiting talented new Board members.

At the same time, Senator Chris Murphy was having a breakfast event in Bloomfield and we were anxious to talk to him about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program which serves low-income seniors.  Connecticut does not have this program yet, even though we have an approved plan for how we would distribute the food.  Unfortunately, Congress has not allocated the money!  Foodshare's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Christine O'Rourke, attended this event and did get a chance to talk with a member of the Senator's Washington staff about the program and the leadership we need from him and the rest of our Connecticut delegation to bring this nutritious food to seniors in the state.

And, also at the same time was the Hunger Action Team Symposium in West Hartford, for which nearly 80 people representing fourteen different Hunger Action Teams had registered!  Foodshare Vice President and Chief Development Officer Alicia Flynn represented the organization at this event and from all accounts it was an exciting and energetic morning with lots of ideas and information exchanged.  Look for more on that event in an upcoming blog entry.

Emanuel Synagogue

Rachel Frank - Fox61 Meteorologist and Evening MC,
Judy Mooney - Gala Co-Chair, Sally Henowitz - Gala Co-Chair,
me & Seth Waxman, Keynote Speaker - 41st US Solicitor General.

A few weeks ago, Emanuel Synagogue celebrated their 95th anniversary.  I was pleased to be able to take part in their celebration and honored that they chose me to be recognized for service to the community.

The congregation at Emanuel has been involved with Foodshare for a number of years, volunteering, raising money, and Walking Against Hunger.  Currently, the rabbi, David Small, serves on Foodshare's Board of Directors.

Thank you to all of my friends at Emanuel for all that you do for the community and specifically to help Foodshare move toward our mission of ending hunger.

I was seated for the evening with old friend and
WDRC-AM radio show host Brad Davis.

Foodshare Board elects new Directors and Officers

On Thursday afternoon, the Foodshare Board of Directors held its annual business meeting, at which new Directors and Officers of the corporation were elected.


New Board Chair Leslie Soler and
Director Rabbi David Small


Officers and Executive Committee elected include:

• Chair:  Leslie Soler
• Chair-elect:  Mark LaFontaine
• Secretary:  Tiffany Hubbard
• Assistant Secretary:  Gina Collopy O’Connell
• Treasurer:  John Hackendorn III
• Assistant Treasurer:  Thomas Buckingham
• Immediate Past Chair:  Gregory Garger
• At-large Executive Committee:  Tony Karlowicz and John Rose                                           
• President:  Gloria McAdam
• Executive Vice President:  Christine O’Rourke
• Vice President:  Alicia Flynn

 
New Directors elected at the meeting were:   Thomas Buckingham (Phoenix), Kenneth Burroughs (Stop & Shop), Shari Cantor (Town of West Hartford), and Gerald “Kip” Dwyer (Robinson & Cole).

 

A frontline report from Bridges Out of Poverty

Foodshare staffer Jill is a volunteer ally with the pilot of Bridges Out of Poverty in Hartford.  She sent me this e-mail about a recent experience:

"The Bridges Out of Poverty framework and “Getting Ahead” is about self-discovery, goal-setting and utilizing networking to facilitate working toward the goal of overcoming circumstances that keep a person in poverty. Recently, the “Investigator” (recent graduate of the Getting Ahead program) that I work with (I am her “Ally”, or mentor) had some questions regarding help for her struggling adult granddaughter. My primary networking is through Foodshare (I am a relatively new Connecticut resident), so I emailed two of our board members who have a background that could be helpful. Within a short time, both of these board members emailed me back with detailed information regarding my questions, contact information and other resources I could tap into. My role (and their role, by extension) is not to solve my Investigator’s challenges, but to direct her to resources or contacts that can lead to needed answers. Thank you, thank you, thank, for helping this Investigator to move forward!"

Back East Brewing Turkey Drive results

A big thank you to Back East Brewing co-founder (and member of the Foodshare Board of Directors) Tony Karlowicz for hosting a Turkey and Thirty drive at last night's tasting.

Looks like it was a good crowd and they collected donations of 36 turkeys and $283.  

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped out!

Chase family donates a new Mobile Foodshare truck

Foodshare recently was able to replace our older Mobile Foodshare truck with a new, refrigerated version which will better allow us to distribute fresh fruits and vegetables to people in need throughout greater Hartford. The truck was made possible through the generous support of the David and Rhoda Chase Family Foundation, the Arnold and Sandra Chase Family Foundation, and the Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation.


For more than 20 years, the Chase Family has been a vigorous and generous supporter of Foodshare. Arnold Chase served on the Foodshare Board of Directors in the 1990s, and Cheryl Chase has served as a Director and now an honorary Director for 15 years.

The Chase family support extends beyond their involvement at the Board level, though.  They have hosted the Chase Challenge at our annual Walk Against Hunger and this is the second Mobile Foodshare truck they have funded for Foodshare. 

Unfortunately, due to a family emergency, the Chase's were not able to be with us at Foodshare's Grand Re-opening last week where we unveiled and dedicated the truck. However, Cheryl Chase and her brother, Arnold Chase, came by Foodshare yesterday for a tour of our expanded facilities and to see the new truck that their generosity had made possible.

 



Pictured:  Arnold Chase, Cheryl Chase, Gloria McAdam, and
Foodshare drivers John Zullo and Gary Sherwood

Since Cheryl had planned to be with us at the Grand Re-Opening, she had prepared remarks, which included, in part:  “It is our honor to support this campaign and the expanding work of Foodshare. Foodshare over the years has shown itself to be a remarkably responsible organization. Its plans are carefully laid and diligently followed through. Moreover, you make a demonstrable difference in addressing the problem. We consider a donation to Foodshare an investment in our community. It’s an investment that has demonstrated impact and large returns. And it an investment that we are happy to make. The Mobile Foodshare program is a case in point. Foodshare saw a problem—the nature of the food bank system was too slow to allow for much produce or the nutrition it offered—and came up with a solution: convert a beverage truck to carry fruits and vegetables quickly and directly from market to neighborhood distribution points.”

And while they were touring the operation and seeing the truck yesterday, Arnold told us that while he, his sister, and his parents sometimes have discussions and even disagreements about which charities they should support, that there is never any question or any disagreement when it comes to supporting Foodshare.

We can’t thank the Chase Family nearly enough for all of their support over the years!

And we did have to let you know that Cheryl just couldn’t resist hopping in the driver’s seat of that new truck for a few minutes!

 

 





Grand Re-Opening Event a Success!

More than 200 people joined us at Foodshare last night to celebrate the complete of our building expansion project and rededicate both the facilities and ourselves to the cause of fighting hunger.  Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman is the Honorary Chair of the "Bridging the Gap" campaign and delivered the inspirational opening remarks.

We were thrilled to have our brand new Mobile Foodsharetruck on display and to honor the Chase Family Foundations who made this new truck possible.  For more than 20 years, the Chase Family have been vigorous and generous supporters of Foodshare. Arnold Chase served on the Foodshare Board of Directors in the 90s, and Cheryl Chase has served as a Director and now an honorary Director for 15 years.  The Chase family support extends beyond their involvement at the Board level.  They host the Chase Challenge at our annual Walk Against Hunger and donated one of our Mobile Foodshare trucks, which brings fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious perishables directly to people in need in their own neighborhoods. 

Now, for our Bridging the Gap campaign, the Chase Family Foundations have generously donated a new Mobile Foodshare truck, as one of our older ones was at the end of its useful life. The new truck will not only be more reliable, but also more sophisticated. It has multiple refrigeration chambers so that produce can be kept at the ideal temperature with less waste. Nothing makes our drivers happier than being able to deliver more and better food. We were pleased to be able to display and dedicate this new truck.

Honorary Director David Urbanik reads
Cheryl Chase's remarks to a full house.

Although the Chase’s could not be with us, due to a family emergency, Cheryl Chase sent some remarks, which included, “It is our honor to support this campaign and the expanding work of Foodshare. Foodshare over the years has shown itself to be a remarkably responsible organization. Its plans are carefully laid and diligently followed through. Moreover, you make a demonstrable difference in addressing the problem. We consider a donation to Foodshare an investment in our community. It’s an investment that has demonstrated impact and large returns. And it an investment that we are happy to make. The Mobile Foodshare program is a case in point. Foodshare saw a problem—the nature of the food bank system was too slow to allow for much produce or the nutrition it offered—and came up with a solution: convert a beverage truck to carry fruits and vegetables quickly and directly from market to neighborhood distribution points.  The Mobile Foodshare program last year delivered enough food, mostly produce, for 3 million meals. They served 67 sites across the area and, most important, provided essential nutrition to children, seniors, families, and individuals. And those numbers are growing each year. We know this truck will make an enormous difference in the lives of many, many people, and we’re proud to have helped make it happen.”

We also recognized the members of the Campaign Cabinet, who have been busy raising the funds needed for this expansion, including Honorary Chair Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman; Chair John Patrick, CEO of Farmington Bank; Craig Anderson, United Health Care; Beth Bombara, The Hartford; Tom Buckingham, Phoenix Companies; Mary Kate Cox, University of Saint Joseph; Joe Gianni, Bank of America; David Urbanik, Halloran & Sage, and longtime Foodshare supporters Linda Martyn, Chris Rohrs, Paul Fraleigh, and Kitty Jo Reynolds.. These people, along with the Board and other volunteers and staff, have been working very hard over the last year on this campaign.

Finally, campaign donors of $50,000 or more were invited forward to help cut the ribbons:

·         AE Design Group, the architects for this beautiful new space, represented by Joe Eddy, principal architect

·         Connecticut Light and Power Company represented by Joe Luchini, the Vice President of Electric Systems Operations

·         Farmington Bank, represented by John Patrick, President

·         The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, represented by Ed Forand, chair of the board of directors

·         Foodshare Board of Directors, represented by Greg Garger

·         Honorary and Former Foodshare Board of Directors, represented by Craig Anderson and David Urbanik

·         Foodshare staff, who collectively donated more than $50,000 to the campaign, represented by Eric Coleman and Mark Cherrington

Six other donors at this level could not be with us but were also recognized:  the Budd Family at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation; the Rhoda and David Chase Family Foundation; the Sandra and Arnold Chase Family Foundation; Stop and Shop’s Our Family Foundation; and the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Center for Public Giving.

Thank you to all of the donors who have made this work possible and to everyone who attended last evening.  As the Chair of the Foodshare Board of Directors, Greg Garger, said, “You are all groundbreakers, at the forefront of the movement to end hunger, and essential to our success. As you’ll hear tonight, this building is not the end of our campaign, but the beginning of it—the launch pad for a much bigger community effort.”

We hope you will all be with us the rest of the way, for “When hunger stops, so will we!”

State represenative takes SNAP Challenge

State Representative Brian Becker and his wife took part in the SNAP Challenge last week as part of Hunger Action Month (full disclosure, Brian was a long-time Foodshare Director and is now an Honorary Director). 

He's written a great blog entry here that details exactly what they purchased and ate for the week.  Best quote from his blog:

"All in all, it was a great experience I never want to have to do again. It gave me better insight into life on SNAP and made me appreciate all the more my good fortune."

25 years at Foodshare!

Congratulations and many thanks to Christine O’Rourke, who was honored yesterday for 25 years with Foodshare.  Despite her insistence that no one make a big deal out of her anniversary, we threw her a surprise party with cake and other goodies, and the entire staff enthusiastically cheering her.  In addition to the party, many of the members of our volunteer Board of Directors, both current and former, sent her congratulatory e-mail messages.

Chris has served in many capacities at Foodshare, joining the organization as its first “food solicitor” in 1988 doing outreach to area food companies to obtain donations. She later took on the role of Associate Director, which had her responsible for volunteer management and partner agency relations.  This role evolved into her current position as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. 

Chris is fairly quiet and doesn’t get into the limelight much, so people are not always aware of the amazing work she does. Her attention to the day-to-day details of the business have resulted in the extraordinary efficiency and efficacy of the organization - her running of a good business allows us to run an effective charity.  Her strategic thinking and long-term vision are plainly evident, though, in our current facility and the expansion which is underway, which was envisioned years ago, and is now near completion. 

We are lucky to have her, and look forward to celebrating her 30^th Anniversary!

The People Who Make the Walk Against Hunger Such a Great Event!

First and foremost, the people who make the Walk Against Hunger such a great event are the 4,000+ people who raise money for Foodshare or their favorite local food pantry or community kitchen and then come out and walk with us.  Thank you to everyone who walked last Sunday!

But with that many people taking part in the event, it takes about 200 volunteers to handle all of the logistics of the day and a big thank you is due to each and every one of them, also!

Volunteers gather before the Walk for a light lunch and an orientaton to the event.

Registration volunteers are all set up and ready to go, just waiting for the Walkers to arrive!

The volunteers who serve on the Foodshare Board of Directors are also pressed into service on Walk Against Hunger day, but for very different roles than they play as a Director!  Thank you to all of our dedicated volunteer Directors for what you do all year long and for your hard work and great fundraising efforts for the Walk Against Hunger.

Foodshare Director Mark LaFontaine helped with this photo project and
also helped judge the various displays set up by the partner programs.

And, many Foodshare employees also get pressed into service in jobs that aren't exactly in their usual job descriptions!  But this team is so flexible that they step up to do whatever it takes.  I'm proud to work with them every day, and especially on Walk Against Hunger day!

Working outdoors posting signs not what these two are usually doing!

Events Coordinator, Jordan, was everywhere and doing everything on Walk day!

Thank you, everyone, for helping make this Walk such a success!

Foodshare Board meets in Hartford

Foodshare's Board of Directors met this morning at our facility at the Connecticut Regional Market.

The meeting space was not fancy, for sure!  But, it was a great chance for the volunteer Directors to see the operations at the Market site, including the recent expansion of space which will allow Foodshare to distribute even more fresh fruits and vegetables to people in need!

Foodshare Honorary Director Recognized

Congratulations to Beth Bombara, a former chair of Foodshare's Board of Directors, current Honorary Director and member of the Audit Committee, on being named one of the Hartford Business Journal's "Women in Business" award winners.

As a committed and dedicated volunteer, Beth served as Treasurer of the Foodshare Board of Directors in 2003 and 2004 and then was Chair from 2005 to 2007.   She has stayed involved since then as an active committee member and recently agreed to join the committee for Foodshare's comprehensive campaign.

Congratulations, Beth, on this well-deserved recognition!

Audited Financial Statements

The Audit and Finance Committees of Foodshare's Board of Directors met together this morning to receive the audited financial reports for 2012 from our outside audit firm, Blum Shapiro.

The auditors presented a report with a clean opinion and noted that they had reviewed all of the folling in the process of their work:  internal controls, including purchasing controls; bank confirmations; a full review of both property and food inventory; accounts payable and receivable; and a comparison of the 2012 budget to the actual income and expenditures.

Once this report is presented to the full Board of Directors, you will be able to review it on the Foodshare website.  (In the meantime, if you are curious, the 2011 audit is already there.)

Thank you to the hard-working staff at Foodshare that keep all of the financial and inventory information and do it so well!  And thanks to the hard-working volunteers on the Audit and Finance Committees for their commitment and oversight!

Director recognized for nine years of service

At last week's Annual Business Meeting, the Foodshare Board of Directors recognized Rick Burns for nine years of volunteer service on the Board.

Rick has served on the Executive Committee for several years and was Chair of the Board for the 2011-12 program year.  He has served on the Audit and Retirement Plan Committees and has often lent his expertise to the staff as they worked on thorny issues.

Since Foodshare's bylaws have a term limit of nine years, Rick was elected an Honorary Director at the Annual Meeting.  He will continue to serve on the two committees and we all look forward to his continued involvement with his sense of humor, common sense, and practical ideas for how to do our important work more efficiently and effectively.

Foodshare Director Honored

Congratulations to Brian DuPerre, a volunteer member of Foodshare's Board of Directors, who was recognized as a Volunteer of the Year by the Pro Bono Partnership earlier this week.  The pro Bono Partnership places volunteer attorneys with nonprofit organizations to work on specific projects for the nonprofits.  Brian first came to Foodshare to help us determine whether the organization needed to be HIPAA compliant (and we breathed a sigh of relief when he told us we did not!).

He did such a great job with it and got so engaged with Foodshare's work that we recruited him onto the Finance Committee and then onto the Board of Directors.

In addition to Foodshare, Brian has provided pro bono legal advice to the Central Area Health Education Center, the ReCONNstruction Center, and Bethsaida Community.  In his full-time work, Brian is the Chief Privacy Officer and Sernior Legal Counsel at United Healthcare.

I was pleased to be able to join Brian and his wife Melissa at the annual awards event, and present the award on behalf of all of the nonprofits he has served.  Thank you, Brian, for all that you do to make our region a better place and congratulations on this well deserved recognition!

Foodshare is hiring

In addition to the 4,000 volunteers who help us out at Foodshare each year, we have a paid staff of fifty people.  Like any organization, there is always a certain amount of turnover as people move on for a variety of reasons.  Right now, Foodshare has four job openings - you can find them all listed on our website.

In particular, I am looking for a top-notch executive assistant who can keep me organized and on track and support not only my leadership of the organization, but also the COO and Board of Directors leadership of our mission to end hunger.  More details and instructions as to how to apply are here.

Feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested in any of the open positions!