Atlanta Community Food Bank Names Kyle Waide New President And CEO
Waide to lead new chapter for one of Southeast's largest hunger relief organizations
ATLANTA, June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which provides fresh, nutritious food to more than 755,000 Georgians facing hunger each year across greater Atlanta and North Georgia, has named Kyle Waide as its new President and CEO.
Waide has served for three years as Atlanta Community Food Bank's Vice President of Partner Operations, leading the organization to record-breaking years of food distribution to the community. He follows Founder and Executive Director Bill Bolling, who announced in 2014 that he would step down from his position, following 36 years of leadership.
"I am so honored and excited to serve as President and CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. The Food Bank is one of Atlanta's most trusted and beloved nonprofits. We have a tremendous team, a dedicated and committed board, an incredible network of partners, and tens of thousands of donors and volunteers who care deeply about our work. Bill Bolling has been an incredible leader, and the team and I will build on his legacy by continuing to work relentlessly to ensure all people in our region have access to the food they need for healthy, productive lives," said Waide, who takes the helm on July 1.
Through Waide's collaborative efforts to improve distribution best practices, the Food Bank has nearly doubled its distribution of food in three years, providing an additional 24 million meals a year to those in need. The Food Bank also has built systems to increase the nutritional quality of its product offerings and dramatically grown the volume of fresh produce delivered to our neighbors in need.
Prior to joining the Food Bank, Waide held management roles at The Home Depot Inc. across diverse areas, including disaster relief, corporate responsibility, community affairs and store operations. Waide previously served as part of the management team that created and launched Charity Navigator, the nation's premier charity evaluation service, and he was a Teach For America corps member, teaching eighth grade math and language arts in Compton, CA.
He is a graduate of Harvard University and resides in Decatur with his wife, Christina, and their three children.
The announcement of the Food Bank's new leader follows a national search, conducted by Diversified Search and a governing board search committee, led by board chair Mary S. Moore, Founder and CEO of The Cook's Warehouse.
"Bill Bolling and the executive leadership team at the Food Bank have been preparing for this change since Bill's announcement. We are very proud of their work to ready the organization for a smooth transition. We are also extremely grateful for the search committee and their many hours of work, and for our board for their guidance in seeking the right leadership for the organization's next phase of success," said Moore. "From Diversified Search, we were pleased to have the opportunity to choose from many outstanding candidates. After much due diligence and thoughtful contemplation, in the end, we found the next great leader of the Food Bank here at the Food Bank."
Bolling will assist with the leadership transition and plans to continue the work of addressing critical hunger and poverty-related issues.
"This is a great day for the Food Bank," said Bolling. "Kyle has been instrumental in taking the Food Bank to a new level of growth and success. He is a great leader and has a deep commitment to both the organization and to the cause of fighting hunger."
The Atlanta Community Food Bank is one of the largest hunger relief organizations in the Southeast. We support a network of 600 partner nonprofits - community and faith-based organizations - across 29 counties in greater Atlanta and north Georgia. Together, we connect more than 755,000 people each year with more than 60 million pounds of food – or more than 50 million meals. But our work isn't just about food – it's about community change. We engage, educate and empower the community to fight hunger. The transformational change we catalyze with the community leads to transformational change in the lives of our clients.
More About the Atlanta Community Food Bank
The Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) began operating in 1979 from a small space at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. ACFB now distributes more than 60 million pounds of food and grocery products each year – or more than 50 million meals - from a 129,600 square-foot facility in northwest Atlanta. The product is accessed by 600 partner nonprofits that provide food assistance to families and individuals in 29 counties across greater Atlanta and north Georgia. ACFB leads seven distinct projects that reinforce its mission to fight hunger by engaging, educating and empowering our community: Atlanta Prosperity Campaign, Atlanta's Table, Community Gardens, Hunger 101, Hunger Walk/Run, Kids In Need and Product Rescue Center.
ACFB is a member of Feeding America, the national network of more than 200 food banks. For more information on the Food Bank, visit www.acfb.org, and for more information on Feeding America visit www.feedingamerica.org.
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SOURCE Atlanta Community Food Bank
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