2012 Female Entrepreneur Lecture featuring Kathleen DiChiara, Community FoodBank of New Jersey

Kathleen DiChiara President and CEO, Community FoodBank of New Jersey
Kathleen DiChiara began distributing groceries out of the trunk of her car in 1975, and the FoodBank was soon established the same year as part of the Archdiocese of Newark. That first year, operating from the fourth floor of the Mount Carmel Guild building in Newark, without a loading dock, the Community FoodBank distributed nearly 2 million pounds of groceries.
In 1982, the FoodBank was incorporated and moved up to an unheated former meat-packing plant in Newark’s Ironbound district. During this period, Kathleen was appointed by then-Governor Thomas Kean to the New Jersey Commission on Hunger, which was influential in developing legislation and policies aimed at reducing hunger in the state, including improving programs for home-delivered meals to senior citizens and participation in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) feeding program. In 1993, continued support and program growth led the FoodBank to its current 280,000 square-foot facility in Hillside, New Jersey. Today, the FoodBank distributes 37 million pounds of food and groceries a year, ultimately serving 1,500 non-profit programs including 436 programs served by its Partner Distribution Organizations (PDOs). Through their combined efforts, they assist 900,000 low-income people in 18 of New Jersey’s 21 counties. Friday, March 30th