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INSPIRE
KAREN BELCHER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL NEW YORK
Jason Klaiber
November 2020
A
fter the executive director post at Food Bank of Central New York opened up in January of this year, the idea of filling the vacancy in an official capacity seemed furthest from Karen Belcher’s mind. The staff member of 19 years still took the helm in the interim, but she looked forward to someone else stepping in once the food bank’s search committee finished reviewing applications. In March, however, things took a turn when the country entered lockdowns in response to a growing number of coronavirus cases. According to the food bank’s board president Mark Ciaralli, Belcher dealt with the uncertainty brought on by the crisis through hard work and “exceptional performance,” helping to facilitate open lines of communication with affiliated agencies like pantries, soup kitchens and social services organizations while thinking of fallback options in case any of these partners halted operations. With many people in the community left without a job or a steady income, the food bank sent out more shipments of food than usual, at times making contactless deliveries to those avoiding the grocery store or trips outside the house altogether. From March through August, the food bank distributed over 13 million pounds of food, representing roughly a 63 percent increase in comparison to the same six-month time frame in 2019. Over the past several months, the food bank has also elevated focus throughout its 11-county service area to what Belcher calls “non-traditional” collaborations, including work with colleges, libraries and other establishments that exist Philanthropy Edition
