Maryland Food Bank
Meg Kimmel is president and CEO of the Maryland Food Bank, where she sets the vision behind the strategies and programs used to reach food-insecure Marylanders and open pathways out of hunger.
A Baltimore native, Kimmel has taken on a broad range of roles at the food bank since joining in 2012, most recently as chief operating officer, helping launch new approaches aimed at strengthening the food system and helping more people reach food security. Mentoring and growing teams is experience she draws on to support the organization’s people, programs and products. Through that work, she pushes for collaborative change so that neighbors in need get a meal today along with a workable path toward food security down the road.
For Kimmel, leadership rests on three things. Seeing what a moment calls for and acting on it takes vision. Trying an unfamiliar approach and learning from the results takes courage. And believing that lasting change depends on many people and organizations working together takes a commitment to partnership.
Ending hunger is a goal that can feel more distant with each passing year, and staying in that work takes resilience, adaptability and a stubborn belief that things can improve. Kimmel has responded by rethinking her sector’s approach to hunger altogether, pushing for solutions aimed at the systems that produce it while still keeping sight of feeding people right now.
To Kimmel, wielding influence means constantly rethinking how the food bank talks about hunger so its message keeps pace with the moment. Reaching people already backing the cause matters to her, and so does reaching those who have not yet gotten involved, all in service of building wider understanding and moving more people to act. Growing that kind of momentum, in her view, is how a movement against hunger takes shape.
Kimmel’s advice for rising leaders: Put in the work and mind the small stuff, since dependability is what makes someone trustworthy, and trust, to her, is the highest professional honor there is. Away from the office, she knits, plays Wordle regularly and keeps a running search for her next favorite book.
Honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by information provided by the honorees and other resources. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.
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