"Business Lexington columnist Janet Holloway recently sat down with Marian Guinn, executive director of the Lexington food bank God's Pantry, to discuss her organization and its mission. The complete interview can be downloaded as a podcast at www.bizlex.com.
J.H.: I'm told that God's Pantry was founded in 1955 by Mim Hunt, feeding people out of her basement. What do you know about that story?
M.G.: Mim grew up in Lexington and then moved to New York City with her first husband, who was in the war. While he was overseas, she became involved with the settlement house movement. She returned to Lexington and said she was shocked at how her city had changed. I once asked her if she really thought Lexington had changed or had she come back to Lexington with bigger eyes. She said, "I think I just came back with bigger eyes." The food bank has been her lasting legacy.
J.H.: Tell me about the food banks.
M.G.: We serve more than 350 agencies — shelters and kitchens and pantries — that every day serve low-income people in 49 counties of central and eastern Kentucky. We have the largest poverty population of any of the food banks in Kentucky.
J. H.: How do you raise the money you need? How do you bring together the suppliers of food to serve the clientele?
M.G.: Our largest source of revenue comes to us from private individuals who respond to our mailings and participate in events. We work with the corporate and the church communities, and our relationship with America's Second Harvest brings us great connections with the food industry at large for our inventory items. We also work through America's Second Harvest to make sure things happen in Washington that positively impact low-income people here in Kentucky through the federal nutrition programs. We are actually the largest distributor of commodities in the state of Kentucky, one that serves food pantries and shelters, and another that is for senior citizens. Last year, we distributed about 13 million pounds of food.
J.H.: How do you distribute the food?
M.G.: We have two warehouses, with our primary facility in Lexington and a smaller warehouse in Prestonsburg. We have a fleet of seven vehicles that are on the road daily delivering products, and several agencies meet us at central locations and pick up their items off the truck. We believe we need to be offering a variety of helpful foods to people in need, and if you're on a limited food budget, fresh food quickly moves out of your budget.
J.H.: Your average client is a single white woman with one or two children, limited education, maybe working at a job where she makes little more than minimum wage?
M.G.: Our average client also has an income of less than $10,000, and if you were limited to $800 a month or so, it would be difficult to meet all your needs. And yet the people we serve are doing the best that they can. It really is a difficult situation.
J.H.: How does Kentucky compare to the national demographics?
M.G.: Unfortunately, over 300,000 Kentuckians require help from community food banks to meet basic needs; one third of those are children. In fact, children and the elderly are disproportionately represented in our data. Seniors are often living on exceedingly limited incomes, and children have no control over where they are in their lives. Programs like the summer feeding program and the school breakfast and lunch program are very important to low- income kids and help to maintain a regular supply of nutritious food.
J.H.: What actions should be taken to assist in the alleviation of hunger in Kentucky?
M.G.: It is important that these programs continue to be funded at the federal level. Food is a basic necessity, and it's shocking when you think about a country as wealthy as the United States with abundant resources having large numbers of people who are food insecure, who don't know where their next meal comes from. The first line of defense is a strong federal nutrition program. Secondly, folks can be engaged as volunteers or as donors to local programs. At God's Pantry, we're proud of the fact that, for every dollar that's donated, we are able to turn that into $10 worth of food. That is a significant way to invest and change the world.
J.H.: On a more personal level, tell me what brought you into this work?
M.G.: I've worked in both the profit and nonprofit sectors, but find my zest for life in the nonprofit sector. It is important for me to feel like I am a part of something that is improving life. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to participate in a way that enables me to go home feeling that maybe I improved somebody's life or maybe I helped somebody take the next step.
J.H.: Can you share one of your success stories?
M.G.: We've helped people continue their lives with very few resources. I've seen women who, after participating in nutrition education classes, for example, felt empowered to get a GED or attend classes at a community college or enroll in a nursing program or leave a violent household. There are all sorts of horrible and amazing feats that these women accomplish. And so, if convening a group of women and learning about resources available in your community empowers you to make a new step, that's a pretty tremendous change.
J.H.: You were recently inducted into the UK Gatton College of Business Hall of Fame. What would you say are key ingredients to your own success?
M.G.: I've been mentored by some amazing people in my life — good people who cared about me and helped me to be successful. I would like to think that I'm a person who does that for others as well. I've been told I'm good at identifying talented young women and helping them advance in their careers. I try to surround myself with positive influences and work towards a mission that I absolutely believe in. Whatever your career path is, if you love what you do and you focus on your goal, you're going to be successful.
J.H.: What were your dreams as a young girl?
M.G.: Honestly? I thought I would run a fish hatchery.
J. H.: And why was that?
M.G.: I loved science and biology, and I really like fish! That was probably my earliest ambition: to run a fish hatchery, which is kind of weird.
J. H.: Makes you quite unique! Can you talk about some of the challenges in your work and how you've dealt with them?
M.G.: I think the greatest challenge is that God's Pantry's mission is awesome, and to move to where we need to be is a huge step. As much as we've grown in the past 10 years, we need to think about the next 10 million pounds of food that we need to be moving. It's going to radically change the way we do business. The challenge is to figure out how to do that, frankly.
J.H.: How would you describe your own leadership style?
M.G.: I like to delegate and to be surrounded by great professionals who are good at what they do and who challenge me at some level. I hope that I foster creativity and innovation and support folks in doing the best they can.
J.H.: Do you ever think about the next five to 10 years and what you might want to be doing?
M.G.: I've been at God's Pantry for 10 years now, but I'm not done. I've had an opportunity to be more involved at the national level, and that has been challenging and exciting. Public policy is still very interesting to me. I'm still challenged where I am and not looking for anything different. I would love to see our organization get to where it needs to be in the next 10 years. That would be hugely satisfying.
Janet Holloway is president of J. Holloway & Associates and co-founder of Women Leading Kentucky. A national columnist for womenentrepreneurs.com, she can be reached at: jhollow@womenleadingky.com