The Capital Area Food Bank, the largest hunger relief organization in the Washington metro area, welcomes Nancy E. Roman as its new President and CEO. Nancy succeeds Lynn Brantley, the food bank’s co-founder who retired at the end of 2012 after 32 years as its chief executive.
Chosen unanimously by the CAFB’s Board of Directors, Nancy was the immediate past Director of Public/Private Partnerships and Communications at the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian agency, feeding 100 million people in 75 countries.
Speaking on behalf of the CAFB Board of Directors, Chairman Greg Ten Eyck said, “Nancy Roman embodies the skills and experience necessary to continue the tradition of excellence and innovation so critical to the future of the Capital Area Food Bank. Her success in raising awareness and resources for the fight against hunger worldwide is well-known and we are confident that her leadership and expertise will allow us to expand further to meet the complex hunger needs in the region.”
At WFP, Nancy supervised a global staff of more than 100 and pioneered innovative partnerships with the private sector that allowed WFP to expand services to millions more mothers and children in the poorest parts of the globe.
“It is a great honor to be chosen for this important role and to follow in the footsteps of a visionary leader like Lynn Brantley,” she said. “The CAFB is on firm footing and prepared for the future because of her leadership and inspiration. I’m so grateful she will continue to advise and support us as president emeritus.”
The Capital Area Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, was founded in 1980 as a temporary hunger relief operation, but poverty and hunger have continued to grow. Today, there are more than 680,000 individuals, including 200,000 children, in the region that look to the CAFB for help.
Over the years, the CAFB has developed a comprehensive approach to addressing hunger by providing nutrition education and training; hosting hunger conferences; attracting some 18,000 volunteers to the food bank annually and advocating on behalf of those who rely on such programs as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In response to the uncertain economy and the increasing numbers of those suffering from inadequate nutrition, the Capital Area Food Bank recently moved into a new and much larger food distribution center located at 4900 Puerto Rico Avenue, NE. Over time, the new facility will enable the CAFB to meet the growing need by more than doubling its storage and annual food distribution capacity of 33 milion pounds – half of which is fresh produce.