Pictured: In attendance at the retirement celebration were (l-r) Keith Monda, incoming President and CEO Nelle S. Miller, retiring CEO Sandra Frank, and Veronica Brady Photo by Nancy Guth.

On December 15, All Faiths Food Bank (AFFB) hosted a retirement celebration event at Michael's On  East in honor of the organization's retiring CEO Sandra Frank. In attendance were food bank board members and staff, community leaders and funders, national food bank network leaders Stephanie Dragatisis, vice president of member engagement, and Mark Biewald, senior director of member engagement for Feeding America, and Robin Safley, executive director of Feeding Florida.  In her 12 years at All Faiths, Frank has led the organization to boldly rethink and re-envision the food bank to ensure that ending hunger extends beyond the traditional “food in, food out” model and targets underlying causes to end hunger before it begins. With guidance from Feeding America, Frank set All Faiths apart by being one of the early food banks in the nation to initiate program assessment and evaluation – activities that are crucial in better understanding hunger and supporting the communities served. Working alongside the board of directors and senior leadership team, she launched a new mission and rebranding of the organization in 2018. By building a strong leadership infrastructure, Frank spearheaded the expansion of the food bank to double the warehouse, refrigeration and community space in 2018, while bolstering AFFB’s future capacity by purchasing adjacent property for further expansion. In partnership with visionary funders, she helped create the foundation for All Faiths’ exemplary fundraising program, including the Campaign Against Summer Hunger – Frank’s self-proclaimed proudest achievement during her tenure – which provides food to students and their siblings during the summer months when schools are closed. This year marked the tenth anniversary of the Campaign, which has raised over $16 million and feeds more than 35,000 children every summer. Together with donors, Frank oversaw the opening of the DeSoto County Food and Resource Center, a national model for addressing hunger and providing social services in rural communities; based on the pilot’s success and substantiated by assessments, the facility and services have expanded in 2023. Frank has directed All Faiths with intense focus and determination throughout a global pandemic, devastating hurricanes and record levels of need. Her leadership has earned All Faiths Food Bank national and local recognition – including recent honors from Florida Trend as one of Florida’s "Best Companies To Work For" – as a pioneer and model in the program areas of hunger and health, evaluation and rural hunger. Nelle S. Miller will assume leadership of the food bank on January 2, 2024. For more about AFFB’s work, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org.

Pictured: In attendance at the retirement celebration were (l-r) Keith Monda, incoming President and CEO Nelle S. Miller, retiring CEO Sandra Frank, and Veronica Brady Photo by Nancy Guth.