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Photograph courtesy of Rhode Island Community Food Bank<\/p>\n
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Prior to moving to Rhode Island this summer, Melissa Cherney had spent her entire career in her home state of North Dakota, where she served as chief executive officer of the Great Plains Food Bank. She took over as head of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in August after the retirement of longtime CEO Andrew Schiff, who led the organization for eighteen years. Her entry comes at a critical time for Rhode Island\u2019s social safety net: Hunger rates have continued to rise \u2014 more than a third of Rhode Island households were food insecure in 2024 \u2014 and changing federal policies could spell challenges on the horizon. She spoke with Rhode Island Monthly in late October amid the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding crisis about how she\u2019s changing the narrative around hunger and her ultimate goal to work herself out of a job.<\/p>\n
What made you want to take this position in Rhode Island?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s interesting. I wasn\u2019t looking for a move or a different position. I was reached out to by the recruiter because of my long background in food banking \u2014 not a lot of people have that in their background. I had a conversation with her and with the search committee. I was really impressed with how much the search committee, being a volunteer group, knew about the food bank and how passionate they were. And then I came out to Rhode Island, and I sort of fell in love with it from the moment I got off the plane. It was midnight, and I\u2019m in your airport, and I hear your piano player. I had this moment of, \u2018I\u2019m tired, a little delirious, I don\u2019t know where I am, but wherever I am, this is where I want to be.\u2019 Because he was so happy. He was waving, the music was wonderful. I was like, \u2018I\u2019m sold, I\u2019ll move here.\u2019 [Editor\u2019s note: Musicians at the airport are part of Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport\u2019s volunteer music program.]<\/p>\n
How has it been settling into the community service space here? <\/p>\n
On one hand it feels like I\u2019ve been here for two years, because the work is familiar, and on the other hand it seems like I\u2019ve been here for two days. It\u2019s nice because I know how a food bank operates, but there is a saying in food banking that if you\u2019ve seen one food bank you\u2019ve seen one food bank, because they are all so different. And they\u2019re all unique, and they all respond to the needs of their community and their state in different ways. It has been really incredible to be able to walk in and know about the work that we\u2019re doing, but seeing it done in a little different way than it was done in North Dakota. Obviously, they\u2019re two very different states, operate different programs, there\u2019s a much more diverse population here, and I\u2019m just so impressed with how the food bank listens to their guests and responds in a very personalized way to their hunger needs.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s an example of that? <\/p>\n
Culturally appropriate foods. I think for a long time, food banks had this philosophy that if you came in and you got a food box, we ended hunger for you. And now it\u2019s really focused on making sure you have the right food \u2014 the food that your family will eat, that you have the equipment to prepare, that is medically tailored for you, that is culturally appropriate \u2014 to make sure that we actually did help you and not just say, \u2018If I handed you a twenty-pound box of kohlrabi, I can say I ended hunger for you.\u2019 But really you didn\u2019t. And so it\u2019s getting much more personal.<\/p>\n
What are some of your goals here at the food bank in Rhode Island? <\/p>\n
There is an amazing staff here, and one of my first goals is to sit down one-on-one with every staff person. I\u2019m making progress on that. And then to get out to our agencies. We work with 137 food pantries and meal sites. I won\u2019t get to all of them within a year, but I do want to get to as many as possible and build that relationship and trust and the collaboration that it takes. I think short-term it\u2019s a lot of learning and listening, because I\u2019m not from here and recognize that. I think long-term I\u2019m hoping that you never need a food bank in the state. I hope that every day, we\u2019re one step closer to ending hunger, and that we\u2019re one day closer to working ourselves out of a job. I don\u2019t know how we do that yet, but hunger\u2019s solvable. There\u2019s enough food produced in this country to feed every single person, yet not everyone has access to it. It seems like that\u2019s an equation that can be solved, we just have not figured it out yet.<\/p>\n
What is the difference between the food bank and a food pantry? <\/p>\n
Food banks were set up and designed to recover surplus food that would otherwise go to waste \u2014 to bring it into one central hub, a large warehouse with a large inventory, and then get it out to all of the food pantries and soup kitchens. If you think of it, we\u2019re sort of the grocery store for all of the food pantries and soup kitchens. We\u2019re bringing in product from all across the country. As soon as it comes into our warehouse, we put it on an online shopping system, and then all of the food pantries place an order once a week and they can either come pick it up or we deliver it directly to their door.<\/p>\n
Do they purchase the food from you? <\/p>\n
It\u2019s completely free of charge.<\/p>\n
How much food do you go through in a typical week? <\/p>\n
Right now, we\u2019re on track to do about 300,000 pounds of food a week. And that\u2019s prior to the SNAP shutdown, which I think is just going to increase [the amount]. In our warehouse, we can hold 2.1 million pounds of food. Right now, we have about 700,000 pounds, and that will last us about a week to ten days.<\/p>\n
Where do you think Rhode Island falls short in serving the need? <\/p>\n
One of the trends I\u2019ve noticed here is the food insecurity numbers continue to increase. That really brings to light the fact that hunger doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum. When someone is hungry, they have issues with transportation and child care and poverty. There are just so many pieces that we need to look at holistically and bring all the resources to the person in one spot so it\u2019s sort of a one-stop shop. I think Rhode Island does a good job of that; I think there\u2019s always more that we can do.<\/p>\n
Are you seeing trends in particular demographics? <\/p>\n
We\u2019re seeing more families and more seniors. We have a lot of baby boomers that are aging and when they\u2019re exiting the workforce, they still have needs. I think that is one of the populations that concerns me. I know that housing is extremely expensive, and I say this having moved here and tried to find housing. It\u2019s a struggle to find something that\u2019s reasonable, and so more and more of people\u2019s wages are going to housing and there\u2019s less leftover to pay for food. There\u2019s a health care crisis at the same time, and people are making those tough choices
between medication and health care and housing, and food is probably the one thing that they don\u2019t have funds left for. I think that\u2019s probably why it\u2019s going up, because the cost of everything is so much right now.<\/p>\n
Where in Rhode Island do you live? <\/p>\n
I am in the Edgewood neighborhood in Cranston. Got a beautiful house, a lovely neighborhood, the best neighbors. My neighbors warned me that you will get several hundred children [for Halloween], so I spent a small fortune out buying candy.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve spoken previously about being on SNAP earlier in your life. Tell us a little bit about your background and how that impacts the work you do now. <\/p>\n
When I was in college, it was my junior year, and I was working two jobs. I got a job at the catering department in the college that year because I knew I\u2019d get a meal at the end of my shift. It was a tough year in terms of the fact that I lived off campus and had to pay rent, and my parents were supporting my brother who started college that year.<\/p>\n
And I remember my mom came over. She would always, like moms do, look in the cupboards to make sure I had enough food. My cupboards were always full, so she never questioned it. But had she actually pulled out the boxes of cereal, they\u2019d have been empty. I would eat it, and I\u2019d just put it back in there so it looked like it was full. And eventually, she saw through it and said, \u2018You should apply for SNAP.\u2019 And so I did. I didn\u2019t think anything of it. I never considered myself hungry or food insecure, I just saw myself as a struggling college student who was doing what you needed to get by. And I was on SNAP for about four months. It wasn\u2019t a long time, and I think that\u2019s exactly what SNAP is for; it\u2019s to give you a hand up at a time you need it. But it was at that point that I felt better. I knew I could get up and go to class and pay attention. I never considered that a key part of my story or past. It wasn\u2019t why I went into food banking; it was just a circumstance in my life for a few months. I was actually working at the food bank for probably about ten years before I shared the story, just because it didn\u2019t define me. It was a moment where somebody referred to people that go to food pantries as \u2018those people.\u2019 And that\u2019s when it hit me that I was one of those people, and that I also needed to change the narrative and share my story because hunger can happen to anyone.<\/p>\n
You serve as chair of Feeding America\u2019s Policy Engagement and Advocacy Committee. What kind of policies does the food bank advocate for? <\/p>\n
SNAP is top of mind right now, but I think the thing to remember is neither food banks or SNAP-like federal nutrition programs were set up to solve the problem of hunger. They were all supplemental, and they\u2019re designed to work together. But again, hunger is a piece of the puzzle. I think when we think about policy, we really have to zoom out and think about all of the things that impact low-income individuals and families. That\u2019s making sure that we have a living wage. That\u2019s making sure that we have access to health care. That\u2019s making sure that we have public transit systems. It\u2019s really thinking about hunger in a much broader way of, \u2018How do we ensure that people can thrive?\u2019 On a national level, there\u2019s a lot around the farm bill that we always work on because our farmers grow our food. We\u2019re in the food business. We need to make sure that they\u2019re taken care of as well. We need to make sure everyone has access to food, and healthy, nutritious food. On the local level, I would say statewide there\u2019s been a lot done around school meals, and feeding kids has such great, incredible consequences. Some of the things that we\u2019ll be paying attention to are making sure that there are no limits on SNAP, making sure that people can still have the dignity to purchase whatever food they want to purchase in the grocery store, and the grocery store\u2019s not dictating what you can and can\u2019t purchase with those dollars.<\/p>\n
What do you think is the greatest challenge facing the food bank? <\/p>\n
Higher need with lower food. We have less food coming in \u2014 that really has been a result of COVID. Less donations coming, forcing us to purchase more just to make sure that we have food on our shelves, and more and more people needing services because of the high cost of everything. I don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to keep up.<\/p>\n
Is the food bank still below pre-COVID donation levels? <\/p>\n
Yes, we are. At the height of COVID, they were serving around 21 million pounds of food [annually]. Last year we did 18 million, this year we\u2019re on track to do about 15 million. We\u2019re doing less food but serving more people. <\/p>\n
How has the transition been moving here from North Dakota?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been really good. I have been sort of blown away with how welcomed I\u2019ve been. I think there\u2019s this stereotype of New Englanders \u2014 everyone in North Dakota is like, \u2018They\u2019re going to be so rude, and you\u2019re never going to fit in.\u2019 I will tell you \u2014 the day that I moved in, my neighbors brought over food. I had met them all within twenty-four hours. I feel like I just have a whole state of new friends.<\/p>\n
Do you have a favorite place in Rhode Island yet?<\/p>\n
Fellini\u2019s Pizza in Pawtuxet Village, which is within walking distance, which is probably why it\u2019s my favorite because I can go get a slice. Although Seven Stars Bakery is right up there, too.<\/p>\n
What can people do to help address the issue of hunger? <\/p>\n
You can\u2019t tell when a person is hungry \u2014 it really hides in plain sight. Building awareness that it can be our neighbors, it can be our co-workers, it can be someone at your church, it can be someone at your school, is one of the most powerful things that we can do. And then use and raise your voice. You can donate \u2014 there\u2019s always donating volunteer time at your local pantry, donating funds, donating food, but also just amplifying the story and making sure that people are aware that this exists and that we need to build an army that is dedicated to fighting hunger. The only way we\u2019re actually going to solve it is if we all stand together with the same North Star and take care of each other.<\/p>\n
Anything else you want to share? <\/p>\n
I have two golden retrievers \u2014 Cece and Nilla, like a Nilla wafer. Cece\u2019s nine, and Nilla\u2019s three. Those are my little rescue babies that came from North Dakota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photograph courtesy of Rhode Island Community Food Bank \u00a0 Prior to moving to Rhode Island this summer, Melissa Cherney had spent her entire career in her home state of North Dakota, where she served as chief executive officer of the Great Plains Food Bank. She took over as head of the Rhode Island Community Food<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[6348,6346,6344,6347,6345],"class_list":["post-43227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rhode-island","tag-rhode-island","tag-rhode-island-dining","tag-rhode-island-food","tag-rhode-island-grocery-stores","tag-rhode-island-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117386819942879329","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}