Breaking News

On Monday evening August 29th, the Boards of Directors of St Mary’s Food Band and Westside Food Bank officially vote to merge the two food banks into one effective September 1st, 2005. The new organization will be called St Mary’s/Westside Food Bank Alliance. This action by the boards is the culmination of almost 8 months of analysis making sure this move is the right thing to do for our community. Along the way the boards asked the staff many hard questions to insure every opportunity was looked at completely to insure it gave us the opportunity to distribute more food to our neighbors.

The overriding factor in the final decision was the absolute belief that we can distribute “More Food to More People” as one organization versus remaining independents. I could not be more pleased with the outcome of their decision. Through out the process over the last eight months it became more and more evident to me that bringing these two incredible organizations together was the right thing to do. I was thrilled as I began to see how the strengths of one would support the shortcomings of the other. Whether it was in the facilities area, internal processes or the skill sets of our employees, the blend seemed to fit so well together and the outcome had the potential to create a situation where 1 + 1 = 3.

It is also my distinct honor to be the Executive Director of the new Alliance. It is a wonderful opportunity for me to lead an organization that has such a positive impact on folks in our community. Everyday we get to see the generosity of our donors and the smiles of appreciation of those we serve. I could not ask for a better place to be than right here….right now.