Current CEO Joe Arthur to stay on as part of a succession plan

/EIN News/ -- HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, an innovative leader in the charitable food network statewide and nationally, today announced a search for a president, a newly created position in the organization.

This decision is part of a long-term succession plan, according to David Ark, the food bank’s board chair, who is also heading up the committee overseeing the search.

“Joe Arthur has driven growth and served as a visionary leader for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank for 12 years,” Ark said, adding that Arthur will continue on as the food bank’s chief executive officer, as well as its chief development officer, a role Arthur has been working in for most of this year.

“The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is a complex organization, one that is critical for its neighbors in need, its extended community of agency partners, local, county, state, and federal agencies, the generous retailers, farmers, and other organizations donating food and funds, and the tens of thousands of donors and volunteers without whom we could not function,” Ark said. He added that the goal is to have the new president work side by side with Arthur for a period of assimilation of up to two years before Arthur scales back to his single role as chief development officer before retiring in late 2028.

Ark said it would be impossible to capture Arthur’s contributions as chief staff executive of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.

“The list of Joe’s accomplishments is long -- he innovated the heavy emphasis on fresh produce and lean proteins to improve the quality of our neighbors’ meals and their health, he pushed the food bank’s distribution capacity into the four corners of our 27-county service territory and expanded three modern warehouse facilities and a volunteer center. Joe also introduced rigorous quantitative and qualitative research to better serve our neighbors and tell their stories to policy makers. Additionally, he launched the effort to incorporate equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging into every aspect of our operations and corporate culture,” Ark said.

"Leading the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has been an honor,” Arthur said. “I am so proud of what our team has accomplished, sometimes under extraordinary circumstances – like during the pandemic,” he added.

Arthur said he looks forward to working closely with the food bank’s new president and smoothly transitioning its leadership over the next few years.

“Our neighbors work hard, but they need us now more than ever, and they deserve our respect and best efforts to provide access to wholesome and culturally relevant food” he said. “We have built a solid foundation of food security for every neighbor who needs our help in Central Pennsylvania. I welcome new leadership that will help us grow partnerships to address the root causes of food insecurity and someday end hunger.”

To conduct the national search for the president position, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has retained The Moran Company, the same firm that successfully recruited its senior vice president and chief equity officer earlier this year.

For more information about this position, please contact:
Mike English
Senior Search Consultant
The Moran Company
816-718-8926
mike@morancompany.com
www.morancompany.com

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is a nonprofit organization with a mission of fighting hunger, improving lives, and strengthening communities. The Food Bank is a member of the Feeding America national network and Feeding Pennsylvania statewide association. It provides nutritious meals for over 200,000 neighbors each month by working with its 1,050 partner agencies and with the critical help of more than 15,000 volunteers. Its Bold Goal is to provide access to enough nutritious food for everyone struggling with hunger in each of the 27 central Pennsylvania counties it serves by working with its collaborative network and convening and nurturing partnerships to make progress toward ending hunger. Recognizing that there is a direct correlation between hunger and being marginalized, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is committed to working against racism and other systemic obstacles that prevent people from thriving. More information about the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank can be found at https://www.centralpafoodbank.org/

For more information about the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, please contact:

Lisa Kreider
SVP/Chief Administrative Officer
lkreider@centralpafoodbank.org
717.564.1700
3908 Corey Road
Harrisburg PA 17109

Media Contact:
Corinna Wilson
Wilson500, Inc.
corinnawilson@wilson500.com
(717) 979-3407