Topic: Access

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This Week's Episode

In this episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson sit down with Triada Stampas, President and CEO of Fulfill Food Bank in New Jersey, for a conversation that challenges how we think about solving hunger in America.

Triada brings a unique perspective shaped by her journey through public policy, government oversight, and food banking leadership. What began as an investigation into SNAP access in New York City became a defining moment—revealing how systems, not effort, often stand between families and the food they need. That insight continues to shape her approach today.

At Fulfill, Triada is leading with a mindset that goes beyond food distribution to focus on outcomes, equity, and long-term food security. She shares how her organization is balancing scale with proximity—being large enough to influence systems, yet close enough to understand community-level impact. From zip code-level strategies to a deeper focus on the “edges” where people are often missed, her work highlights the tension between efficiency and effectiveness in the charitable food system.

This episode explores the difference between addressing hunger and creating food security, the role of policy in shaping outcomes, and the kind of leadership required to question systems that may be producing exactly the results they were designed to deliver.

It’s a conversation about perspective, courage, and the willingness to ask a harder question: not just how we do more—but whether we should be doing something different.

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On This Episode

Triada’s story begins far from traditional food banking. Drawn first to medicine, then public policy, then politics, she found her way into the work through a New York City investigation into SNAP access. What she discovered changed the trajectory of her career: families were struggling to afford food while billions in federal nutrition benefits were being left unused because systems had been designed with barriers instead of access. That realization hooked her.

Her leadership reflects a rare combination of policy intelligence, human curiosity, and systems thinking. Raised in Queens in a deeply multicultural community and trained in both social anthropology and public policy, Triada brings a wide worldview to food banking — one that balances data with dignity and numbers with the real lives behind them.

At Fulfill, that perspective is shaping a food bank that is big enough to operate at a systems level, but small enough to see what is happening community by community. Triada described Fulfill’s work at the zip-code level, asking not simply how to move more food, but whether food and resources are reaching the places that are easiest to miss. Her insight was clear: efficiency matters, but if the work only aims for the middle, the most vulnerable people may remain on the edges.

The conversation sharpened a core truth for Food Secure Nation: food insecurity will not be solved by effort alone. Food banks are working hard, but leadership must be willing to question whether the systems we have built are producing the outcomes we say we want. Triada Stampas represents the kind of leader this moment requires — thoughtful, courageous, policy-smart, and unwilling to accept that “more of the same” is enough.

Creating a food secure nation requires leaders who can see the whole system and still notice the edges. That is where the next level of the work begins.

Big enough to shape systems.
Small enough to see people.

Triada Stampas

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This Week's Guest

Triada Stampas

Triada Stampas is the President and CEO of Fulfill Food Bank, where she is helping redefine what it means to create food security at the community level. With a background spanning public policy, government oversight, and hunger advocacy, Triada brings a systems-focused approach to food banking that blends strategy, dignity, and what she calls “policy smarts.”

Before leading Fulfill, Triada held leadership roles at the Food Bank For New York City and Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Her journey into the work began through public service in New York City government, where investigations into SNAP access and systemic barriers to food assistance ignited her passion for fighting hunger at scale. A graduate of Columbia University, Triada combines analytical rigor with a deeply human understanding of the communities food banks serve. She also serves nationally with Feeding America through the Public Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC).

Triada Stampas

President and CEO of Fulfill Food Bank

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Triada Stampas

President and CEO of Fulfill Food Bank

Triada Stampas is the President and CEO of Fulfill Food Bank, where she is helping redefine what it means to create food security at the community level. With a background spanning public policy, government oversight, and hunger advocacy, Triada brings a systems-focused approach to food banking that blends strategy, dignity, and what she calls “policy smarts.”

Before leading Fulfill, Triada held leadership roles at the Food Bank For New York City and Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Her journey into the work began through public service in New York City government, where investigations into SNAP access and systemic barriers to food assistance ignited her passion for fighting hunger at scale. A graduate of Columbia University, Triada combines analytical rigor with a deeply human understanding of the communities food banks serve. She also serves nationally with Feeding America through the Public Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC).

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This Week's Episode

If we’re serious about outcomes, partnership isn’t optional. It’s essential.

In this episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson sit down with Brian McGrain, Executive Director of Michigan Community Action, for a conversation that models the kind of collaboration required to move to the next frontier of food security. Together, they explore how Community Action Agencies and food banks—alongside schools, health systems, and workforce partners—must move beyond parallel efforts and into coordinated, community-driven solutions.

At the center of the conversation is a defining truth: families do not experience our systems separately—they experience whether life works. When systems are disconnected, people are left to navigate the gaps. But when leaders align their strengths, they can blend those systems into coordinated solutions that meet real-life needs.

This episode is an example of what it looks like to lead beyond organizational boundaries—activating the six dimensions of food security in practice, not theory—and a challenge to leaders everywhere: if the goal is real outcomes, then partnership isn’t a strategy. It’s a requirement.

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On This Episode

Food security takes shape when communities align around the people they serve. In this episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson welcome Brian McGrain, Executive Director of Michigan Community Action, for a conversation that models the kind of partnership required to move to the next frontier of this work.

McGrain represents 27 Community Action Agencies across Michigan, part of a national network of nearly 1,000 agencies working to address the conditions that keep families in crisis. Serving all 83 counties, these agencies operate across housing, food access, utility assistance, early childhood programs, financial empowerment, and more—bringing a comprehensive, community-based approach to stability and self-sufficiency.

At the center of the conversation is a defining truth: families do not experience our systems separately—they experience whether life works.

A parent trying to put food on the table may also be facing housing instability, rising utility costs, transportation challenges, and wages that are not keeping up with the cost of living. When systems are disconnected, people are left to navigate the gaps. When leaders align their strengths, they can blend those systems into coordinated solutions that meet real-life needs.

That is where real progress happens.

Food banks, Community Action Agencies, health systems, schools, workforce programs, and local leaders each bring something essential. When those strengths are intentionally connected, communities begin to activate the six dimensions of food security—availability, access, utilization, stability, sustainability, and agency. No single organization carries all six, but together, they can.

McGrain highlights that Community Action Agencies are locally governed, deeply connected to the communities they serve, and grounded in lived experience. That perspective ensures that solutions are shaped with people, not simply delivered to them.

The conversation also acknowledges the real-world tension leaders face—local governance, funding structures, contracts, and service boundaries. These realities matter, but they cannot become barriers. The work ahead requires leaders who are willing to navigate the gaps and blend systems into something better for the people depending on them.

The closing challenge is clear: if we’re serious about outcomes, partnership isn’t optional. It’s a requirement.

People don’t experience our programs—they experience whether life works. If we’re making it harder to be poor, it won’t matter who delivers the service—only whether the need gets met.

Brian McGrain

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This Week's Guests

Brian McGrain

Brian McGrain is the Executive Director of Michigan Community Action, representing 27 Community Action Agencies serving all 83 counties across the state. Part of a national network, these agencies work across housing, food access, and financial stability to help individuals and families move from crisis toward self-sufficiency.

With more than 20 years of experience in community development and public policy, Brian brings a practical, people-centered approach to his leadership—focused on connecting systems and strengthening communities through collaboration.

Brian McGrain

Executive Director of Michigan Community Action

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Brian McGrain

Executive Director of Michigan Community Action

Brian McGrain is the Executive Director of Michigan Community Action, representing 27 Community Action Agencies serving all 83 counties across the state. Part of a national network, these agencies work across housing, food access, and financial stability to help individuals and families move from crisis toward self-sufficiency.

With more than 20 years of experience in community development and public policy, Brian brings a practical, people-centered approach to his leadership—focused on connecting systems and strengthening communities through collaboration.

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This Week's Episode

This episode goes beyond inspiration and gets to the real challenge at the heart of food security: not a lack of caring, not a lack of ideas, but a lack of connection.

Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson reflect on decades of experience to unpack why so much good work struggles to scale, and why better frameworks, shared learning, and the Six Dimensions of Food Security may be the key to moving from isolated effort to real national progress. If you want to understand what connects the voices, vision, and momentum behind Food Secure Nation, this is the episode that brings it all together.

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On This Episode

This episode of Food Secure Nation pulls back the curtain on a hard truth: food insecurity has never been a problem of caring, or even a lack of good ideas. It has been a problem of connection.

After decades of experience across communities, systems, and even continents, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson confront a reality many in the field feel but rarely name. Progress is happening, but the system still feels stuck. Why? Because some of the best thinking is still happening in isolation. Great ideas emerge, inspire, and then disappear before they can be shared, tested, and scaled.

This conversation marks a turning point, because it does more than name the problem. It begins to name the path forward.

Through the lens of Know Better, Do Better, we introduce a more powerful way ahead, rooted in shared learning, practical application, and a unifying framework: the Six Dimensions of Food Security. From something as simple as winter squash to complex healthcare partnerships, they show how better thinking can sharpen decisions, strengthen systems, and unlock better outcomes, often without adding cost.

This is where the conversation moves beyond commentary. It becomes an invitation.
With a vision to connect leaders, ideas, and real-world pilots across the country, this episode lays the groundwork for a new kind of progress, one that turns insight into action and isolated effort into collective impact.

Because the future of food security will not be built by working harder in silos.

It will be built when we learn together, act together, and scale what works.

And as the guys remind us:
“The challenge was never knowledge… it was connection.”

Hope is a dangerous thing… if it never turns into strategy.

Gerry Brisson

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What does food security actually look like when you zoom out and see the whole system?

In this episode, Joree Novotny and Mandy Pullaro return to unpack the six dimensions of food security—not as theory, but as lived reality from a statewide lens. From balancing limited resources with dignity and choice, to redefining the role of people experiencing hunger as partners in the solution, this conversation challenges how we think about impact. Along the way, they connect food insecurity to economic stability, health, and housing—revealing that lasting progress doesn’t come from doing more of the same, but from aligning systems around the people they serve.

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On This Episode

In this powerful follow-up conversation, Joree Novotny and Mandy Pullaro move beyond theory and into the real-world tension of building food security across all six dimensions—availability, access, utilization, stability, sustainability, and agency. What becomes clear quickly is this: food security isn’t a checklist—it’s a balancing act.

From their vantage point leading statewide systems, Joree and Mandy unpack the hard truth that these dimensions don’t always align neatly. Limited resources can strain the ability to prioritize dignity and choice. Systems built for emergency response are now carrying the weight of chronic need. And yet, within that tension lies opportunity—if we’re willing to rethink the system itself.

A defining theme of the episode is agency—not as a luxury, but as a multiplier. When people experiencing hunger are treated as participants rather than recipients, outcomes improve—not just for individuals, but for entire households and systems. The conversation challenges long-held assumptions and reframes food insecurity as deeply connected to economic stability, health, and housing—not just food supply.

The episode also brings a powerful shift in perspective: the people we serve are not problems to be solved—they are essential partners in the solution. Through listening sessions, policy engagement, and lived-experience storytelling, both leaders demonstrate how systems become more effective when they are built with people, not for them.

And then comes the gut-check: we reveal what we truly believe by how we behave. Whether it’s how we treat donors, partners, or neighbors seeking support, the system reflects our values in action. That question lingers—and it should.

This episode doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it offers something more valuable: a clearer lens. One that shows food security as an interconnected system requiring alignment, humility, and leadership at every level.

Because when those six dimensions begin to move together—that’s when transformation becomes possible.

Our network was built for emergencies—but today, we’re part of people’s ongoing strategy for stability.

Mandy Pullaro

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This Week's Guest

Joree Novotny

Executive Director, Ohio Association of Food Banks

Joree Novotny leads the Ohio Association of Food Banks, where she works at the intersection of policy, partnership, and large-scale food distribution to strengthen food security across the state. A respected voice in the national hunger relief network, Joree is known for aligning diverse stakeholders—from food banks to government leaders—around practical solutions that improve access and outcomes for families. Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to systems change, ensuring that resources move not just efficiently, but with purpose and impact.

Mandy Pullaro

Chief Executive Officer, Feeding Colorado

Mandy Pullaro serves as CEO of Feeding Colorado, where she brings together a statewide network of food banks to advance coordinated solutions to hunger. With a strong focus on collaboration, advocacy, and innovation, Mandy helps bridge the gap between local service and statewide strategy. She is recognized for elevating the role of state associations as critical connectors—turning shared insight into unified action that strengthens the entire food security system.

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Everyone sees the front lines of hunger relief—but who’s aligning the system behind it?

In this episode, Joree Novotny and Mandy Pullaro share how state associations quietly connect policy, partnerships, and people to move entire networks forward. If food insecurity is a systems problem, this conversation reveals where real alignment—and real progress—actually begins.

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On This Episode

Most people think they understand how hunger gets addressed in America. They picture the pantry. The food bank. The volunteers packing boxes.

But this episode of Food Secure Nation reveals something bigger.

Featuring Joree Novotny and Mandy Pullaro, this conversation shines a light on the leaders working behind the scenes—the ones connecting entire systems so thousands of organizations can move as one.

And once you see it… you can’t unsee it.

Joree and Mandy don’t just talk about programs—they talk about people, purpose, and the moments that made this work personal. From childhood experiences to life-altering challenges, their stories remind us that food security isn’t theoretical—it’s deeply human.

But here’s where the conversation takes off:

They unpack the role of state associations—the connective tissue of the food security ecosystem:

  • The ones who bring partners to the table
  • The ones who turn conversation into coordinated action
  • The ones who can see the gaps no one else can see
  • And the ones who step in—fast—when it matters most

You’ll hear how:

  • A state can mobilize resources overnight during a crisis
  • Innovation at the local level can reshape national policy
  • And how leadership at scale isn’t about control—it’s about alignment

This episode makes one thing unmistakably clear:

Food security doesn’t happen because one organization works harder. It happens when an entire system works better—together.

If you’ve ever wondered why progress can feel slow…
or what it really takes to move the needle…

This conversation will change how you see the work.

And once you hear it, you’ll understand:

The future of food security isn’t just about feeding people—
it’s about connecting the system that makes it possible.

Good work is happening everywhere—but without alignment, it stays fragmented. The role of a state association is to help that work move together.

Joree Novotny

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This Week's Guests

Joree Novotny

Executive Director, Ohio Association of Food Banks

Joree Novotny leads the Ohio Association of Food Banks, where she works at the intersection of policy, partnership, and large-scale food distribution to strengthen food security across the state. A respected voice in the national hunger relief network, Joree is known for aligning diverse stakeholders—from food banks to government leaders—around practical solutions that improve access and outcomes for families. Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to systems change, ensuring that resources move not just efficiently, but with purpose and impact.

Mandy Pullaro

Chief Executive Officer, Feeding Colorado

Mandy Pullaro serves as CEO of Feeding Colorado, where she brings together a statewide network of food banks to advance coordinated solutions to hunger. With a strong focus on collaboration, advocacy, and innovation, Mandy helps bridge the gap between local service and statewide strategy. She is recognized for elevating the role of state associations as critical connectors—turning shared insight into unified action that strengthens the entire food security system.

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“When you center the person experiencing hunger, everything else gets clearer — strategy, partnerships, even accountability.”

As she steps down as CEO of Feeding America, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot shares the leadership philosophy that helped reshape the national hunger conversation. At the heart of it: agency. What happens when people experiencing hunger are no longer on the margins—but at the center of decision-making? This episode explores the courage, tension, and impact of that shift.

 

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In this episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson welcome Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, for a conversation about leadership, dignity, and the evolution of the national hunger-relief movement. As Claire prepares transition from her role leading the nation’s largest hunger-relief network, she reflects the leadership lessons, cultural shifts, and strategic decisions that helped reshape how the Feeding America network understands its mission.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple but transformative idea: the charitable food system does not exist to serve institutions—it exists to serve people experiencing hunger. Claire describes how, early in her tenure, she challenged two competing assumptions within large systems: that national organizations should either direct the work of local partners or simply serve them. Instead, she reframed from the mission around a shared commitment—food banks, national leaders, partners, and communities working together as co-equals in service to families facing hunger.

This shift helped reorient the network’s thinking toward the lived experience of people facing food insecurity. Rather than treating individuals experiencing hunger as passive recipients of charity, Claire and the network began recognizing them as experts in their own experience. By elevating lived expertise—listening to people not just as storytellers but as guides for decision-making—the network began asking better questions and designing better solutions.

One example came during the development of Feeding America’s first federated Network Strategic Framework. While leaders discussed how the system should improve data collection, a participant with lived experience challenged the group with a simple insight: if data truly serves people facing hunger, then it should help them answer the most immediate question—Where can I find food? That moment reshaped the conversation and demonstrated how centering lived experience can sharpen strategy and reveal blind spots that institutions alone might miss.

Claire also reflects on a powerful moment during the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, where she brought individuals with lived experience as her “entourage.” When offered a seat among dignitaries at the front of the room, she chose instead to sit in the back with the individuals whose voices had helped shape national policy. In that moment, as one woman realized the President of the United States was speaking words drawn from her own story, Claire witnessed what true agency looks like—when people experiencing hunger are not spoken for but heard.

Throughout the conversation, Claire emphasizes that meaningful change in complex social systems requires both humility and courage. Leaders must be willing to evolve, to acknowledge past assumptions, and to build systems that invite participation rather than impose solutions. When people experiencing hunger are seen as partners in solving the problem—not as problems to be solved—the path to lasting progress becomes clearer.

As the episode concludes, Knight and Brisson reflect on Claire’s legacy: a leadership style rooted in compassion, curiosity, and truth-telling. By helping the hunger-relief network refocus on dignity, agency, and collaboration, Claire’s influence continues to shape how communities across the country work together to build a more food secure nation.

Agency doesn’t slow the work down. It makes the work finally fit.

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot

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This Week's Guest

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is the outgoing CEO of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. A nationally recognized leader on poverty, dignity, and systems change, she has guided the network through some of the most challenging moments in recent history — including the COVID-19 pandemic and rising food insecurity across the country.

Before joining Feeding America, Claire built a distinguished career in law and corporate leadership, including serving as Executive Vice President and Treasurer at Walmart. But what defines her leadership is not just her résumé — it’s her conviction.

During her tenure, Claire helped reframe the national hunger conversation by centering the voices and experiences of people facing food insecurity, elevating dignity and agency as essential to lasting solutions. Her leadership has been widely recognized, including being named one of TIME’s Women of the Year.

Claire’s work continues to shape how leaders across sectors think about trust, equity, and what it truly means to build a food secure nation.

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot

Former CEO of Feeding America

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Claire Babineaux-Fontenot

Former CEO of Feeding America

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is the outgoing CEO of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. A nationally recognized leader on poverty, dignity, and systems change, she has guided the network through some of the most challenging moments in recent history — including the COVID-19 pandemic and rising food insecurity across the country.

Before joining Feeding America, Claire built a distinguished career in law and corporate leadership, including serving as Executive Vice President and Treasurer at Walmart. But what defines her leadership is not just her résumé — it’s her conviction.

During her tenure, Claire helped reframe the national hunger conversation by centering the voices and experiences of people facing food insecurity, elevating dignity and agency as essential to lasting solutions. Her leadership has been widely recognized, including being named one of TIME’s Women of the Year.

Claire’s work continues to shape how leaders across sectors think about trust, equity, and what it truly means to build a food secure nation.

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What does it really take to create access to food?

In this episode, Stacy Dean brings a rare, full-spectrum perspective — from national policy to federal implementation to global systems leadership. Together, we explore how access is shaped, why it often falls short, and what it will take to build a food system that delivers real choice, stability, and dignity for every community.

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On This Episode

When Stacy Dean joined Food Secure Nation, the conversation centered on one deceptively simple word: access.

Across her career — from shaping national nutrition policy, to administering SNAP, WIC, and school meals at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to now leading the Global Food Institute at George Washington University — Stacy has influenced how access to food is designed, implemented, and improved. Her work reflects a clear truth: leadership shapes systems, and systems determine whether families can obtain the food they need.

As Stacy explained, access is far more complex than proximity to a grocery store. It is shaped by income, transportation, safety, infrastructure, technology, cultural responsiveness, and trust. When even one of these factors breaks down, access weakens. What seems like a simple question — “Can people get food?” — is a systems challenge that varies widely across communities.

At the Global Food Institute, Stacy is advancing an interdisciplinary approach to building a more sustainable and equitable food system. From climate impact and food waste to supply chains and digital delivery, the future of access is evolving — and so must the way we understand and measure it.

Throughout the conversation, one theme stood out: solutions must be built with communities, not simply delivered to them. People experiencing food insecurity are not problems to be solved, but partners in designing what works. When leadership focuses on expanding options and strengthening systems, access becomes more stable, more dignified, and more resilient — and that is how we build a Food Secure Nation.

Access is what determines whether a system works — or whether people fall through the cracks.

Stacy Dean

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This Week's Guest

Stacy Dean is a nationally recognized leader in food policy and nutrition programs, currently serving as Director of the Global Food Institute at George Washington University. Over the course of her career, she has shaped and implemented some of the nation’s most critical food assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, and school meals.

Prior to joining George Washington University, Stacy served at the United States Department of Agriculture, where she led the Food and Nutrition Service, overseeing federal nutrition programs that support millions of Americans. Before her time in federal service, she spent more than two decades at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, helping to design and advance policies to strengthen food access and reduce poverty.

Today, Stacy brings a global, interdisciplinary perspective to food systems, working across sectors to advance solutions that are sustainable, equitable, and rooted in the lived experience of communities.

Stacy Dean

Director, Global Food Institute, George Washington University

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Stacy Dean

Director, Global Food Institute, George Washington University

Stacy Dean is a nationally recognized leader in food policy and nutrition programs, currently serving as Director of the Global Food Institute at George Washington University. Over the course of her career, she has shaped and implemented some of the nation’s most critical food assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, and school meals.

Prior to joining George Washington University, Stacy served at the United States Department of Agriculture, where she led the Food and Nutrition Service, overseeing federal nutrition programs that support millions of Americans. Before her time in federal service, she spent more than two decades at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, helping to design and advance policies to strengthen food access and reduce poverty.

Today, Stacy brings a global, interdisciplinary perspective to food systems, working across sectors to advance solutions that are sustainable, equitable, and rooted in the lived experience of communities.

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Gerry and Phil sit down with Virginia Witherspoon, the Executive leading Channel One Food Bank in MN.

She chairs the National Advisory Committee for Feeding America. Lawery, CEO and Chairperson – 3 Chairs, Unique Perspectives from Virginia Witherspoon.

 

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What happens when one leader sees the food security system from three different vantage points at once?

In this episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson sit down with Virginia Witherspoon to explore how legal training, local leadership, and national governance intersect in a system under pressure.

From navigating post-pandemic resource challenges to rethinking how dignity shapes service delivery, this conversation offers a rare look at how real decisions are made—and what it will take to build a stronger, more aligned national response to hunger.

Dignity is free. It costs nothing to welcome someone well, trust them, and treat them like a shopper instead of a client.

Virginia Witherspoon

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This Week's Guest

Virginia Witherspoon serves as CEO of Channel One Regional Food Bank and Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Feeding America. A trained attorney, she brings a unique blend of legal precision, operational leadership, and governance expertise to the fight against hunger. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to dignity, data-informed decision making, and ensuring that the voices of people experiencing food insecurity shape the systems designed to serve them.

Virginia Witherspoon

Executive and Operational Leadership

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Virginia Witherspoon

Executive and Operational Leadership

Virginia Witherspoon serves as CEO of Channel One Regional Food Bank and Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Feeding America. A trained attorney, she brings a unique blend of legal precision, operational leadership, and governance expertise to the fight against hunger. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to dignity, data-informed decision making, and ensuring that the voices of people experiencing food insecurity shape the systems designed to serve them.

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Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson sit down with Tory Martin, leader at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy.

Our guest, Tory Martin, is a leader at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy, where she helps study and interpret national trends shaping the nonprofit and philanthropic world. Her work looks beyond headlines to examine how trust, technology, and data are reshaping how nonprofits operate and how the public experiences their work.

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Wake-Up Call to the Nonprofit Sector: Trust Is the New Currency

In this compelling episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson sit down with Tory Martin, Director of Engagement and Knowledge Building at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy, to unpack the implications of the 11 Trends in Philanthropy report and what it means for nonprofits navigating a season of profound change. The conversation is both candid and urgent. The central message is unmistakable: good intentions are no longer enough. Nonprofits must demonstrate good work.

Trust, as discussed in the episode, is not soft sentiment—it is an accelerant. Drawing on leadership insights from Stephen R. Covey and John C. Maxwell, the hosts frame trust as the fruit of real relationship. Yet the Johnson Center’s research highlights a troubling reality. While nonprofits continue to rank high in perceived ethical behavior, they do not consistently rank high in perceived competence. That distinction matters. In an environment where public expectations are rising and scrutiny is intensifying, organizations must not only care deeply about their missions—they must clearly show measurable, credible impact.

One of the most practical insights from the report centers on language. Nonprofits often speak in sector-specific jargon that creates distance rather than connection. Trust grows through proximity and clarity. When organizations communicate in language that everyday people can understand, they reduce barriers, strengthen transparency, and reinforce credibility. Talking like a neighbor instead of an industry insider is not a branding tweak—it is a trust-building strategy.

The episode also confronts the unavoidable rise of artificial intelligence. AI is not a future consideration; it is a present reality. Organizations that ignore it risk falling behind. At the same time, AI without human oversight carries serious risks, including bias amplification and ethical blind spots. The Johnson Center emphasizes that responsible innovation requires strong data infrastructure and human-led judgment. AI is a tool—not a replacement for wisdom, compassion, or accountability. Used well, it can accelerate knowledge and deepen insight. Used poorly, it can undermine trust.

Closely connected to the AI conversation is the growing need for data with context. Numbers alone do not tell the whole story. Participatory approaches—where communities help interpret and give meaning to the data they generate—build legitimacy and shared ownership. When lived experience informs analysis, competence becomes more visible and trust becomes more durable.

Finally, the conversation recognizes that this moment of instability may also be a moment of innovation. As government roles shift and funding landscapes change, nonprofits will need to deepen cross-sector partnerships and rethink traditional approaches. Clear-eyed honesty about what nonprofits can—and cannot—solve alone is critical. Overstating impact erodes credibility. Clarity strengthens it.

The overarching takeaway is simple but demanding: credibility is built when claims match capacity. Strong missions do not require exaggeration; they require integrity. In a time when expectations are rising and trust is fragile, the nonprofit sector must speak plainly, show competence, embrace innovation responsibly, and align words with work. That alignment is not just good communications practice—it is the foundation for building lasting food security and a stronger nonprofit sector.

Credibility is built when claims match capacity. Strong missions do not require exaggeration, they require integrity

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This Week's Guest

Tory Martin: Director of Engagement and Knowledge-Building for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy

Tory Martin brings a unique blend of strategic communications expertise and cross-sector experience to the table, currently serving as the Director of Engagement and Knowledge-Building at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy.

With a background that includes key roles at National Public Radio (NPR) and the Smithsonian Institution, Tory acts as an “integrative force” in the center’s mission to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world nonprofit practice. She provides creative oversight for the center’s digital strategy and funder stewardship, while also spearheading major knowledge-sharing initiatives like The Foundation Review and the annual 11 Trends in Philanthropy report.

In this episode, Tory offers a candid look at the evolving expectations for the nonprofit sector, emphasizing that “good intentions are no longer enough”. Drawing from her leadership in tracking sector-wide shifts, she discusses the critical need for organizations to move past industry jargon and build trust through clarity, proximity, and measurable impact. Tory highlights how responsible innovation—particularly the integration of AI and participatory data—can help nonprofits navigate a season of profound change and strengthen the social safety net for the long term.

Tory Martin

Director of communications and engagement

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Tory Martin

Director of communications and engagement

Tory Martin joined the Johnson Center in October 2017 as director of communications and engagement. In 2022, her role expanded to include strategic partnerships, and in 2025 she was named director of engagement and knowledge-building.

Tory responsibilities at the Johnson Center have always included creative oversight for the Johnson Center’s communications and marketing efforts across publications and digital channels. This work includes overall strategy, content development, and tracking engagement metrics. She also has ongoing responsibility as coordinator and catalyzer for the center’s fund development efforts and funder stewardship, in close partnership with the executive director, senior leadership, and GVSU’s University Development team. She is the primary strategic staff support for the Johnson Center’s Leadership Council.

Tory further serves as an integrative force in the Johnson Center’s mission to build, share, and activate knowledge in the sector to improve practice. Her work includes providing leadership for The Foundation Review, overseeing the annual publication of the center’s 11 Trends in Philanthropy report, supporting the development of research-to-practice curriculum and learning programs, and facilitating partnerships that position the Johnson Center to bring more research-informed knowledge and strategies to bear on the practice of community change.

Previously, Tory served as grants manager for National Public Radio (NPR) and held several roles in the audience and education departments of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH), where she was a founding member of the staff diversity advisory council.

Tory is originally from the Washington, D.C. area and is a proud graduate of both the University of Virginia, earning a B.A. in American Studies and History, and Georgetown University, where she completed an M.A. in liberal studies, concentration: American Studies.

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This Week's Episode

Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson sit down with Melissa Cherney, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Chair of the Public Engagement Advisory Committee for Feeding America.

Together, they explore what real influence looks like in the fight against hunger—not headline-making power, but steady, principled leadership grounded in lived experience, operational excellence, and a national policy perspective

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On This Episode

The Six Dimensions Revealed

Although the Six Dimensions of Food Security were not explicitly named during the conversation, each one surfaced naturally through the lived experience, operational insight, and policy leadership shared by Dr. Phil Knight, Gerry Brisson, and Melissa Cherney.

Availability emerged through the practical realities of moving food across vast geography—from serving more than 70,000 square miles in North Dakota to leveraging federal commodity programs like TEFAP. The discussion made clear that food security begins with ensuring food is physically present in communities, whether through local purchasing, national procurement, or coordinated federal investment.

Access revealed itself through deeply personal stories. Both Melissa and Dr. Knight shared experiences navigating SNAP during seasons of vulnerability, highlighting the administrative burdens, eligibility thresholds, and bureaucratic friction that often stand between families and the assistance designed to help them. The conversation underscored that access is not simply about eligibility—it is about reliability, dignity, and trust in the systems that deliver support.

Utilization surfaced in the evolution of food banking itself. The shift from distributing whatever food could be recovered to ensuring the right food, at the right time, in the right quantities reflects a growing understanding that nourishment—not just calories—matters. Every household has unique needs, and effective food security must consider health, culture, and usability.

Stability ran throughout the episode in discussions of federal shutdowns, SNAP policy shifts, and the fragility of benefit continuity. When programs pause or change abruptly, families experience instability that erodes trust and planning capacity. Advocacy, even when imperfect, plays a critical role in protecting that stability and lessening harm.

Sustainability appeared most powerfully in the conversation about aligning food banking with local agriculture. By investing millions of dollars annually into local growers, food banks can strengthen regional economies while preventing hunger upstream. Food security and agricultural viability are not separate systems—they are interdependent.

Finally, Agency was woven through the personal narratives shared. Hunger was described not as an identity but as a circumstance. Applying for SNAP required courage; leaving it behind restored independence. At the national level, Melissa’s leadership of Feeding America’s Public Engagement Advisory Committee reflects collective agency—ensuring that those closest to hunger solutions have a voice in shaping policy.

Taken together, this episode demonstrates that the Six Dimensions are not abstract theory. They are already embedded in how thoughtful leaders approach hunger—intuitively, holistically, and systemically. When the dimensions align, communities move closer to the next threshold of food security.

Perhaps most encouraging, this episode demonstrates that the Six Dimensions are no longer theoretical constructs — they are becoming instinctive lenses through which experienced leaders evaluate policy, operations, and human impact.

Policy Impact

This Is What Leadership Looks Like

As Chair of the Public Engagement Advisory Committee for Feeding America, Melissa Cherney helps shape federal policies that impact families in every county in the United States.

From this conversation, three national imperatives rise:

Align Agriculture & Hunger Policy for Prosperity for All
Invest in farmers. Strengthen local economies. Prevent hunger upstream.

Safeguard and Evaluate SNAP but First Do No Harm
Stability builds trust. Trust builds resilience.

Create Program Alignment to Achieve Desired Outcomes
No one should lose food assistance because of bureaucratic misfires.

We are not here simply to move food. We are here to strengthen the system that determines who gets it, how much they receive, and for how long. That is how a nation becomes food secure.

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This Week's Guest

Melissa brings a rare combination to the national stage:

  • Nearly two decades of food bank leadership—from the rural expanse of North Dakota to the densely populated communities of Rhode Island.
  • Firsthand experience with food insecurity as a college student navigating SNAP benefits.
  • A deep understanding that hunger does not define a person—it reflects a circumstance.

Her story reinforces a critical truth: hunger hides in plain sight. The face of food insecurity looks like any one of us.

Melissa brings a rare and powerful combination to the national stage. With nearly two decades of food bank leadership spanning the rural expanse of North Dakota to the densely populated communities of Rhode Island, she understands both the geographic and systemic realities of hunger in America. Her leadership is informed not only by executive experience, but by personal history. As a college student navigating a season of food insecurity and receiving SNAP benefits for a short time, she learned firsthand that hunger does not define a person—it reflects a circumstance. That lived experience did not limit her; it shaped her.

Her story reinforces a critical truth that echoes throughout the conversation: hunger hides in plain sight. The face of food insecurity looks like any one of us. It can be a farm kid from North Dakota, a struggling student trying to make tuition and rent work, or a working family navigating an unexpected disruption. This episode reminds listeners that the work of building a food secure nation begins with understanding the dignity, resilience, and agency of the people at the center of the issue.

Melissa Cherney

CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank

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Melissa Cherney

CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank

Melissa Cherney became the CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in August 2024, bringing over two decades of leadership from her home state of North Dakota, where she previously served as CEO of the Great Plains Food Bank. A veteran advocate in the “food banking” world, Cherney also serves as the chair of Feeding America’s Policy Engagement and Advocacy Committee. Her approach is rooted in the belief that hunger is a solvable equation, focusing on providing “culturally appropriate” and medically tailored foods rather than just standard food boxes. She is driven by a long-term goal to “work herself out of a job” by addressing the root causes of poverty, such as housing and healthcare costs.

Cherney’s passion for the mission is deeply personal, informed by her own experience using SNAP benefits during a difficult year in college. This lived experience fuels her commitment to changing the narrative around hunger and ensuring that the social safety net provides a “hand up” to those in need. Now a resident of the Edgewood neighborhood in Cranston, she has quickly embraced the Rhode Island community—and its local pizza—alongside her two rescue golden retrievers, Cece and Nilla.

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