Hunger-relief loses a compassionate advocate
August 31, 2010
One of the greatest traits of humanity is our power to turn compassion into a public movement. Bob Forney, the former President and CEO of Feeding America (then America’s Second Harvest), possessed such a strong and enduring commitment. His passing last night leaves the world short of an empathetic and courageous leader in the fight against domestic and international hunger.
Bob started where many of us begin in hunger-relief, as a volunteer at an agency of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. He took on more responsibility by joining the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Board of Directors and had recently retired from the Chicago Board of Trade when the opportunity to lead America’s Second Harvest arose.
His determination to bring domestic hunger into the public sphere laid the foundation for Hunger Action Month by establishing an annual Hunger Awareness Day. Bob provided unprecedented disaster relief in the months following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and developed a streamlined plan for responding to future catastrophes; began a fresh foods initiative to get fresh produce, dairy and meat to hungry families; and recognized the value of our faith-based agencies throughout the network.
In his own words, Bob “knew that America’s Second Harvest was a special organization long before [he] accepted his post as President and CEO.” He had great love and appreciation for the core business of food banking and saw the potential for the Feeding America food banking model to feed billions of people around the world. With his great excitement about sharing the Feeding America food banking model with other nations, founding the Global Foodbanking Network (GFN) was a natural progression for Bob.
Strength built the core of Bob’s being, but his immense sympathy made him unforgettable. Bob was never one to shy away from showing how truly moved he was by our cause. He was never afraid to cry after hearing someone’s story of hunger.
The Feeding America we know today would not be the food bank network we know today without Bob Forney’s insight. In 2007, when he retired from the organization, we created the following video to thank him for all of his amazing work.
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January Clothing Drive
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Posted by Daniel Lambert | December 22, 2010 at 7:26 PM