God's Pantry names CEO with 25 years' experience in food industry - Lexington Herald Leader

God's Pantry names CEO with 25 years' experience in food industry - Lexington Herald Leader

God’s Pantry Food Bank announced Tuesday that its new chief executive officer is Michael J. Halligan, most recently a senior director with Con Agra Foods.

Halligan, who is from the Chicago area, has worked in the food industry for more than 25 years, including stints at PepsiCo and the Quaker Oats Co. He has a degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University.

He follows Marian Guinn, who led the food bank for 19 years. She left and launched her own coaching and consulting company.

Halligan also spent several years at the Food Bank’s national affiliate organization, Feeding America in Chicago, where he helped launch the Retail Store Donation Program. That effort to reduce food waste is having an impact on 200 Feeding America-affiliated Food Banks nationwide, according to a news release from God’s Pantry.

At God’s Pantry Food Bank in 2015, six million of the 30 million pounds of food distributed came from retail store partners including Kroger, Walmart, Aldi and Target.

The organization’s search committee’s goal was to identify a leader to help fight hunger among nearly 260,000 people in Central and Eastern Kentucky; increase its current 30 million pound annual distribution of food and strengthen and develop the Food Bank’s partnerships with 400 community-based programs in 50 counties, its donors and volunteers.

Grant Gabbard, chairman of the God’s Pantry board, said Halligan’s experience and enthusiasm “is a great fit for the growing organization.”

Halligan starts work on Jan. 3.