Monica White, Food Share Ventura County’s President & CEO, has been named the new Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB). The appointment runs from October 2021 through May 2022. White has served for three years on the CAFB Board of Directors having previously served as Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Governance and Membership Committee.
CAFB, which was founded in 1995, works with 41 California-based member food banks to ensure they have the tools and resources needed to fight hunger across the state. The organization also works to increase access to CalFresh, California’s food stamp program; creates partnerships with the agriculture industry to secure excess produce and reduce food waste; and advocates for pro-food bank and anti-hunger policies at local, state, and federal levels.
Commenting on White’s appointment as chair, Stacia Hill Levenfeld, CEO of CAFB, said, “Monica’s leadership skills have made her an invaluable resource for our organization over the past difficult months as hunger has risen dramatically across the state and the country. I am delighted to be able to continue to draw on her expert counsel as we continue the fight to end hunger in California.”
White joined Food Share of Ventura County as President and CEO in 2017 after having previously served on the Food Share board. Upon taking the role of CEO, Monica led Food Share out of a period of financial challenges while responding to some of Ventura County’s most critical hunger-relief needs during the Thomas Fire and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, last year Food Share distributed more than 26 million pounds of food, providing more than 21.6 million meals to people in Ventura County – the largest amount of food ever distributed in the organization’s 43-year history, and nearly double the previous high of 13.5 million pounds in 2019.
