April 3, 2025 • 28 mins
How Loyalty Principles Drive Impact in the Nonprofit Sector
Loyalty professionals spend much of their time optimizing engagement, designing value exchanges, and driving long-term brand affinity. While these strategies are typically associated with commercial brands, they’re just as relevant, and arguably more critical, in the nonprofit sector, where emotional commitment and sustained participation directly impact lives.
Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the United States, offers a compelling example of how loyalty principles like hyper-local relevance, omnichannel engagement, emotional connection, and strategic partnerships can be leveraged to build movements, not just memberships.
In a conversation with Loyalty360, Casey Marsh, Chief Development Officer at Feeding America, provided insight into how the organization’s work is deeply informed by many of the same mechanics used to grow customer loyalty applied through the lens of social mission.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good afternoon everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofLoyalty360's Leaders in Customer
Loyalty Brand Stories series,where we explore how top
organizations are buildingmeaningful, lasting connections
with their audiences.
Today's episode is a littledifferent, but incredibly
relevant.
We're speaking with Casey Marsh, chief Development Officer at
(00:24):
Feeding America, the largesthunger relief organization in
the United States.
While Feeding America operatesin the nonprofit space, the
strategies they use to fosterengagement, build emotional
loyalty and scale impact willsound very familiar to customer
loyalty professionals.
This conversation dives intohow Feeding America applies
(00:44):
loyalty principles likehyper-local engagement, digital
enablement, personalization andlong-term partnerships to
mobilize support from donors,volunteers, corporate partners
and the public.
We'll also hear about theorganization's flagship cause
marketing collaboration withWalmart and Sam's Club, a
campaign that has raised over$200 million and helped secure
(01:07):
more than 2 billion meals.
If you're looking for a freshperspective on how customer
loyalty strategies can be usedto drive mission-based outcomes
and what we can learn fromnonprofits about emotional
connection and trust, this is amust listen, let's dive in.
Thanks for taking the time tojoin us, casey.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Thank you for having me, ethan.
Really nice to be here,excellent.
So for those who may not befamiliar with Feeding America,
can you please give us a shortintroduction to how the
nonprofit was started and someof the backstory there?
Sure, it's actually aninteresting story.
Food banking as we know it inthe US began in 1967 when a
(01:47):
gentleman named John Van Hengelstarted the nation's first food
bank in Phoenix, arizona.
It's still there today, stMary's Food Bank.
Van Hengel himself was a retiredbusinessman and he was
volunteering at a local soupkitchen and came up with the
idea of a bank where peoplecould go for food if they needed
(02:10):
help and where others couldcome to make deposits or
donations.
So he established that food bank, and then they went on to other
cities, other states, and theneventually, the need for a
national organization tocoordinate all of those efforts
and work with national foodcompanies led to the
establishment of what we know asFeeding America and the network
(02:32):
today, and we are a network ofmore than 200 food banks, 21
statewide food bank associationsand over 60,000 agency partners
.
So that includes what you mightthink of as your local food
(02:58):
pantry meal programs.
Amongst all of those efforts,we provided about 6 billion
meals to tens of millions ofpeople in need last year alone.
So Feeding America really hasgrown.
We also support programs thatprevent food waste.
We are overall aiming toimprove food security in the
(03:20):
United States.
We bring a lot of attention tosocial barriers that might
contribute to that foodinsecurity and we advocate for
sound legislation that protectspeople from going hungry in the
first place.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Wow, that's fantastic .
That's an amazing reach, and Ididn't realize that the history
of food banks was so recent.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
It really was.
It's surprising, but it wasn'tthat long ago recent.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
It really was.
It's surprising, but it wasn'tthat long ago.
Cool Well, can you tell us moreabout your role with Feeding
America and how you got to whereyou are?
What positions you had that?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
led you to this role?
Sure, well, I am the ChiefDevelopment Officer at Feeding
America.
I have a great privilege ofserving in that role for almost
exactly five years now.
So if you look back to 2020, Istarted at the very beginning,
in the height of the globalpandemic, which was an
(04:12):
interesting time to walk intofundraising at Feeding America
at a time that the networkreally had to step up and be
almost like frontline respondersfor people facing hunger.
My background has been infundraising, marketing brand
awareness, for over 20 years now.
Before Feeding America, I was afundraiser and executive at
(04:37):
UNICEF USA and, prior to that,at the AIDS Foundation of
Chicago, so I have reallyengaged in local efforts, global
efforts and now focusing onnational efforts here in the
United States.
And my team has the privilegeof working with our corporate
(04:57):
partnerships and that includescause marketing partnerships,
corporate foundations,individuals, volunteers,
employees who want to be engagedin a deeper and more meaningful
way, and we also get the chanceto work with individuals who
want to deeply invest in themission of Feeding America.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Awesome, wow, that's a long history of work in
nonprofit Impressive.
So in that role, what keeps youup at night?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities that
you face in your position?
It depends on when you ask me.
I will say currently what'skeeping me up at night and some
of our challenges andopportunities.
I would say increasing foodinsecurity in this country is a
(05:46):
big worry.
Neighbors in every county inthe US are experiencing this
challenge.
So sometimes people think ofthis as, oh, that's an urban
problem or that's a ruralproblem.
It is not.
It's a pretty universal problemat this point across the United
States.
A pretty universal problem atthis point across the United
(06:09):
States, and part of that is dueto rising food costs, to
inflation.
With all of that, the pressureon families also increases.
How am I going to juggle andmanage the pressure of paying
the rent or my mortgage, as wellas health care costs, and be
able to provide healthy andnutritious meals for my family?
We know that 47 million peoplein the United States are facing
(06:33):
food insecurity, and thatincludes 14 million kids, and I
think that part really keeps meup at night, being a mom myself,
and thinking of that difficultsituation, of the desire to want
to take care of your family anddoing everything you possibly
can to get there, and alsobalancing that with the fact
(06:53):
that sometimes you need help andyou need a little support.
So I feel good about that, thatwe are there for people in that
situation.
There's a lot of uncertaintyright now about how does
traditional philanthropy keep upwith that growing need and
demand.
And that kind of brings us tothe fact that these innovative
partnerships are criticallyimportant to how we meet the
(07:17):
need that exists across theentire United States.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, that's very true.
And that kind of leads me to mynext question.
You mentioned you came on boardright at the beginning of the
pandemic and you mentioned theway that people are interacting
with nonprofits and philanthropyis changing.
So how do you see that industrychanging and the people's
interactions changing and howare you?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
responding to those shifts.
Well, we know that customers instores at most retailers we
have learned that most want tosupport campaigns that benefit
their local communities.
They want to see where theimpact is landing and they want
(08:01):
to be able to touch and feelthat we meet this need by
regranting funds to local foodbanks in areas where the
donations are made.
So we're a nationalorganization with a very
hyper-local touchpoint and thatexists because we have this
fantastic network of reallywell-respected leaders who are
(08:23):
running food banks in their owncommunities and agencies and
pantries that exist in yourneighborhood.
So, as consumers and customersat the register increasingly use
mobile apps and digitalpayments, digital strategies are
more important than ever toensuring a successful cause
(08:45):
marketing campaign.
We're able to address this byensuring that companies that we
partner with will include astrong digital marketing plan,
and that really helps to ensurethat customers can engage both
in-store and online wheneverpossible.
The Fight Hunger, spark Changecampaign with Walmart really
(09:07):
exemplifies our commitment tothis local impact digital
engagement and really is a greatmodel and example of how we can
offer a lot of ways toparticipate in store online.
We try to make it really easyfor customers to support their
communities however they choose.
Another trend that I thinkwe're seeing and learning about
(09:32):
and is very relevant here, isthat overall employee engagement
is declining in the UnitedStates, and that's not specific
to engagement in causestore andonline, but engaging employees
(10:07):
by encouraging employees to askcustomers to donate at the
register, these campaigns cangive them a meaningful role in
making a real impact on hungerrelief and they see that come to
life in their own community.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Awesome, yeah to life in their own community, awesome
, yeah, that's reallyinteresting to hear the employee
engagement piece as a driverfor that campaign and you know
you mentioned the Fight HungerSpark Change campaign there.
I believe this is the 12thconsecutive year that all US
Walmart locations are teaming upwith their customers, their
suppliers, sam's Club membersand their employees for with
(10:44):
their customers, their suppliers, sams Club members and their
employees for the Fight HungerSpark Change campaign supporting
Feed America, feeding America.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Can you tell us more about the details of the
campaign?
Sure, yeah, every year since2014, all Walmart and SAMS Club
locations in America and thattotals more than 5,000 stores
and clubs activate, and theyactivate to fight hunger, spark
change.
It's a campaign that raisesfunds by prompting customers to
(11:14):
donate at the register again,both in-store and online
opportunities, and we also havethat activated through the
purchase of specially markedproducts from more than 20
suppliers.
So Fight Hunger, spark Changeis one of Feeding America's
largest cause marketingcampaigns, generating more than
(11:37):
206 million dollars since itsonset and helping to secure more
than 2 billion meals since 2014.
So the impact and the depth andthe scale of change that this
has brought about cannot beunderstated.
It's really incredible.
(11:57):
Wow, that's a huge impact.
So how did that partnership withWalmart initially come into
being and how have you seen itevolve over the last 12 years?
The partnership itself startedwith a million-dollar donation
from the Walmart Foundation, andthat was directly to Feeding
America in the wake of HurricaneKatrina in 2005.
(12:20):
2005.
So today, that partnership andthat initial interest in
supporting people in need andpeople facing hunger has grown
into one of the mosttransformative collaborations
that exists in the hunger reliefspace, hands down Local leaders
, walmart, sam's Clubdistribution centers, who are
(12:44):
donating surplus food to foodbanks and to agencies across the
Feeding America network.
All of these efforts result inthe donation of more than 9
billion pounds of food to thenetwork and that actually makes
Walmart and Sam's Club WalmartFoundation Feeding America's
(13:06):
largest donor, our largestsupporters.
So it started with that initialinterest and a lot of times
people, individuals, companiescome to Feeding America because
of a disaster right.
They may see in the media someheightened awareness of a need
that exists here in our owncommunities and in this case
(13:27):
this has grown into such anincredible impactful partnership
with longevity and reach that Idon't think any of us could
have foreseen that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I mean over the past 12 years.
I'm sure you guys have done alot of amazing things together,
and you mentioned some of themetrics from this most recent
year.
Are there any other milestonesthat you've achieved together
that you would want to highlight?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, definitely.
Walmart, sam's Club, WalmartFoundation have worked with
Feeding America and local foodbanks and food pantries and meal
programs to really transformthe charitable food experience
itself.
So for neighbors facing hunger,how they experience the network
is different and it's betterbecause of Walmart's engagement
(14:15):
Supporting Feeding America andlocal food banks over those,
with more than $271 million ofinvestment over the long term.
A big part of that $177 millionhas come from the company and
Walmart itself, but almost $95million has come from customers
(14:39):
and members of Walmart and Sam'sClub.
So if you ever are questioningwhen you're at the register and
you see that, would you like togive a dollar or would you like
to round up the 50 cents thatgoes to Fight Hunger, spark
Change, you should never wonderif those pennies or dimes or
dollars make a difference.
(14:59):
They absolutely do.
They have changed the way thatwe are able to engage with
people who are facing foodinsecurity in this country.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Wow, that's really great to hear what other
challenges has the partnershiphelped you address in your fight
against hunger.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Well, on a national level, feeding America faces
challenges like sourcing anddistributing food quickly,
rescuing food from food waste.
Walmart and the WalmartFoundation grants help Feeding
America and our network toreally maximize how we're
sourcing food and how we'resharing it among partner food
(15:41):
banks within the network.
It also helps us to expandcapacity to source and
distribute food more efficientlyto households who are
experiencing food insecurity.
So I'll give you a coupleexamples.
This includes Walmart's deepinvestments in grant making in
Feeding America's technologyplatforms, so these platforms
(16:03):
assist neighbors in getting thefood that they need to thrive.
Order Ahead, for example, is anapp, a platform developed by
Feeding America, that enablesneighbors to order food from a
food bank or a partner agencyand receive a home delivery, or
to pick up food at a convenientcommunity location and to pick
(16:27):
the foods that their familyreally needs and wants and
prefers.
That could include adrive-through distribution or
even a delivery locker and thatdigital experience for people
facing hunger.
It's intended to also minimizestigma so that food banks could
reach a wider audience and alsomeet neighbors where they are
(16:51):
and allow them to access thefood and nutrition that they
need for their families in areally highly dignified manner.
Meal connect is another greatexample of feeding America's
online platform that quicklyconnects retailers who are
looking to donate surplus foodright.
Retailers are getting so muchbetter, so much more efficient
(17:15):
about avoiding any waste, so weallow them to quickly connect
with nearby food banks andagencies, even for small pickups
of food that would otherwise goto landfill.
We're helping to divert that,so it's really exciting.
The investments go beyond whatyou might see on the surface to
(17:36):
a very comprehensive andholistic partnership.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Cool to hear so kind of shifting gears a little bit.
There's a lot of discussionright now among our members and
in the industry about emotionalloyalty.
How does, as a nonprofit, likeFeeding America what?
Speaker 2 (17:54):
does emotional loyalty mean to you and your
organization.
So for us, the outcome overallthat we are hoping to achieve is
increased public passion to endhunger, and part of the way we
do that and increase thatemotional loyalty about the
(18:17):
cause is through innovativecampaigns like Fight Hunger
Spark Change campaign.
Through innovative campaignslike Fight Hunger Spark Change
campaign, passion for the issueoverall among charitable givers
in the United States actuallycontinues to be at an all-time
high.
So it's increased by aboutthree points to 55% in the last
(18:41):
fiscal year, 2024.
So to us at Feeding America,this means that people are
inspired and they want to takeaction to help improve food
security in the United States.
A campaign like Fight HungerSpark Change through that helps
us to do a few things.
First of all, it helps us togenerate that awareness of and
(19:02):
engagement with the issue ofhunger locally and across the US
.
And it also helps us to sharelocal impact stories about how
the support that people who facehunger receive from food banks
and from local partners.
And then it connects that withhow Fight Hunger Spark changed,
(19:24):
with how Walmart Sam's Clubstrengthened those local
communities year-round, and howthat single person who's
standing at the register canalso play a big role in that.
So the campaign overall for usit really increases that loyalty
.
It engages customers through aninspirational messaging, really
(19:45):
increases that loyalty.
It engages customers through aninspirational messaging.
It tells the story of howdonations can help and it tells
the story of how neighborsexperience hunger and how you
can make a difference.
That's very interesting to hear.
I really appreciate yourperspective there.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So do you have future plans for partnerships with
Walmart and Sam's Club?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
We do.
We are so connected to Walmartand Sam's Club through these
deep investments over the yearsand through a true collaborative
partnership that has emerged.
The Fight Hunger, spark Changecampaign is just one aspect of a
much broader relationship andpartnership there with Walmart
(20:27):
that we of course hoped tocontinue to grow and to evolve
way into the future.
The campaign itself is aninitiative that specifically
helps raise that awareness withWalmart's customers and
employees associates and thatreally dovetails very well into
sustaining our impact-orientedwork together through what we
(20:51):
call our always-on programs,like food donations.
So what I haven't mentionedreally much at all yet is that
Walmart's donations of more thannine billion pounds of food to
the Feeding American Networkmake Walmart one of the largest
food donors in the country,helping people who are facing
(21:13):
hunger nationwide.
So the goal of our worktogether is to end hunger in
America and to look at how wecan do that together.
The goal will be going forwardis sustaining that work as the
need exists, decreasing thatneed, broadening the partnership
(21:34):
, including food donations.
Currently Walmart has a verystrategic grant focused on
expanding food access via foodrescue and modernizing food
donation data capabilities.
So there is more food out there.
We know that and we need tocontinue to get better about
(21:56):
ensuring that that food getsinto the hands of people who are
facing food insecurity and whocan use it today.
Wow, that's exciting that youhave such a firm foundation in
that partnership and it lookslike it's going to continue to
grow and build.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And I love to see how they're applying the technology
to help improve the outcomesfor everyone in their
communities.
That's really cool to hear.
So, in your quest to eliminatehunger in America, how does
Feeding America plan to innovateor expand its programs in the
future to try and achieve thatvery ambitious goal?
Speaker 2 (22:34):
We are always innovating, that's for sure, to
keep up with an ever-changinglandscape and environment and
the need.
Each year the US, for example,produces 92 billion pounds of
surplus food.
That is more than enough tohelp millions of people who are
(22:54):
experiencing food insecurity inthis country.
Yet the food doesn't alwaysreach the people who need the
food, the people who need thefood.
So by rescuing that surplusfood Feeding, america can play a
role in ensuring that perfectlygood food can safely make it
from fields, farmers, groceryshelves to tables and homes of
(23:19):
community members all across thecountry, members all across the
country.
We are also the country'slargest food rescue organization
.
We rescue surplus food fromgrocery stores, from food
manufacturers, from farms.
We redistribute all of that toget it to people who are facing
hunger.
Last year alone, we rescued 4.1billion pounds of wholesome
(23:45):
food, nutritious food, perfectlygood food.
That included about 3.5 billionpounds of produce, protein,
milk and dairy products.
And this is food that neighbors, people facing hunger, have
told us that they want us, thatthey want Everything that we do.
(24:06):
We try to center that on whatneighbors who are facing hunger
are telling us that they wantand they need to thrive in their
lives, and our partners play acritical role in this, not only
in the food rescue, but ineverything that we do.
Retail donations are actuallyour largest source of food for
the Feeding America Network.
We also get incredibledonations from farms.
(24:27):
We collaborate with other keypartners such as ConAgra, food
Lion, general Mills, kroger,tyson, in addition to this
incredible relationship withWalmart.
With all of them, we're notjust rescuing the food, we're
changing the way thatcommunities can access that food
.
So to meet this growing needthat I mentioned earlier across
(24:52):
the country, we at FeedingAmerica we've set a pretty
ambitious target that we want torescue an additional and
incremental 1 billion pounds offood by teaming up with even
more food and fund partners.
When we see a way that everyonecan play a part in this through
the Food Rescue Challenge atFeeding America, your viewers
(25:14):
can learn more about it atfeedingamericaorg and find a way
that, as an individual, you canplay a role as well.
So it's really exciting.
There's a lot of opportunityahead and we remain undaunted,
to the extent possible, by thechallenges that we're facing.
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
It's incredible to see your commitment to such a
challenging issue and it'sincredible to see the real life
impact that you're making on allof our neighbors and our
communities across the country.
So thank you so much forsharing all of that with us and
giving our viewers an insightinto kind of the depth and
breadth of what you donationwide.
(25:54):
So now it is time actually forour famous quickfire questions,
so that people can get to knowyou a little bit better.
So we like to try and keep theanswers here to one word or a
short phrase as we go through.
So here we go.
What word or short phrase doyou use to inspire?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
others, I like to say if you can't stop thinking
about it, don't stop working forit.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Oh, that's a good one .
What is your least favoriteword that others use?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Can't.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
What is your favorite food?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Maryland crab cakes.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Oh, that's a good one .
What excites you at work?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Visiting food bank partners and agencies and
meeting neighbors.
And then, what do you findtiresome at home or at work?
Oh, I don't like doing dishes.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Fortunately, I don't do them at work, but at home.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
I really don't like doing that, and there are lots
of them.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
What book do you like to recommend to your colleagues
?
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Radical Candor.
What book do you like torecommend to your colleagues?
Radical candor, and that'ssomething actually my colleagues
recommended to me and we'vekind of adopted that as a team,
as a book that we really haveleaned into awesome.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So what profession other than your current one
would you like to attempt?
Speaker 2 (27:23):
psychologist, sometimesologist.
Sometimes I feel like I usepsychology skills in my world,
but yeah, I think that would bereally interesting, cool.
So what do you enjoy doing thatyou don't get to do very often?
Kayak, I love to kayak.
I live in Chicago area.
I love to kayak.
(27:46):
I live in Chicago area.
The weather does not alwayspermit me to kayak.
So who inspired you to becomethe person that you are today?
That's a tough one, becausethere's not just one, I would
have to say my mom and dad.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Awesome, and how do you want to?
Speaker 2 (28:06):
be remembered by your friends and family.
I would like to be rememberedas the glue that kept us all
together.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Awesome.
Well Casey, thank you so muchfor taking the time to speak
with us today.
It was a pleasure speaking withyou and getting to learn more
about the mission of FeedingAmerica and how you're
increasing loyalty among peoplewho are interested in supporting
your cause.
So thank you everyone who tunedin to listen, and make sure you
check back next Thursday forthe next episode of Leaders in
(28:37):
Customer Loyalty Brand Stories.
We'll see you then.
Thank you.
Good afternoon everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofLoyalty360's Leaders in Customer
Loyalty Brand Stories series,where we explore how top
organizations are buildingmeaningful, lasting connections
with their audiences.
Today's episode is a littledifferent, but incredibly
relevant.
We're speaking with Casey Marsh, chief Development Officer at
(00:24):
Feeding America, the largesthunger relief organization in
the United States.
While Feeding America operatesin the nonprofit space, the
strategies they use to fosterengagement, build emotional
loyalty and scale impact willsound very familiar to customer
loyalty professionals.
This conversation dives intohow Feeding America applies
(00:44):
loyalty principles likehyper-local engagement, digital
enablement, personalization andlong-term partnerships to
mobilize support from donors,volunteers, corporate partners
and the public.
We'll also hear about theorganization's flagship cause
marketing collaboration withWalmart and Sam's Club, a
campaign that has raised over$200 million and helped secure
(01:07):
more than 2 billion meals.
If you're looking for a freshperspective on how customer
loyalty strategies can be usedto drive mission-based outcomes
and what we can learn fromnonprofits about emotional
connection and trust, this is amust listen, let's dive in.
Thanks for taking the time tojoin us, casey.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Thank you for having me, ethan.
Really nice to be here,excellent.
So for those who may not befamiliar with Feeding America,
can you please give us a shortintroduction to how the
nonprofit was started and someof the backstory there?
Sure, it's actually aninteresting story.
Food banking as we know it inthe US began in 1967 when a
(01:47):
gentleman named John Van Hengelstarted the nation's first food
bank in Phoenix, arizona.
It's still there today, stMary's Food Bank.
Van Hengel himself was a retiredbusinessman and he was
volunteering at a local soupkitchen and came up with the
idea of a bank where peoplecould go for food if they needed
(02:10):
help and where others couldcome to make deposits or
donations.
So he established that food bank, and then they went on to other
cities, other states, and theneventually, the need for a
national organization tocoordinate all of those efforts
and work with national foodcompanies led to the
establishment of what we know asFeeding America and the network
(02:32):
today, and we are a network ofmore than 200 food banks, 21
statewide food bank associationsand over 60,000 agency partners
.
So that includes what you mightthink of as your local food
(02:58):
pantry meal programs.
Amongst all of those efforts,we provided about 6 billion
meals to tens of millions ofpeople in need last year alone.
So Feeding America really hasgrown.
We also support programs thatprevent food waste.
We are overall aiming toimprove food security in the
(03:20):
United States.
We bring a lot of attention tosocial barriers that might
contribute to that foodinsecurity and we advocate for
sound legislation that protectspeople from going hungry in the
first place.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Wow, that's fantastic .
That's an amazing reach, and Ididn't realize that the history
of food banks was so recent.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
It really was.
It's surprising, but it wasn'tthat long ago recent.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
It really was.
It's surprising, but it wasn'tthat long ago.
Cool Well, can you tell us moreabout your role with Feeding
America and how you got to whereyou are?
What positions you had that?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
led you to this role?
Sure, well, I am the ChiefDevelopment Officer at Feeding
America.
I have a great privilege ofserving in that role for almost
exactly five years now.
So if you look back to 2020, Istarted at the very beginning,
in the height of the globalpandemic, which was an
(04:12):
interesting time to walk intofundraising at Feeding America
at a time that the networkreally had to step up and be
almost like frontline respondersfor people facing hunger.
My background has been infundraising, marketing brand
awareness, for over 20 years now.
Before Feeding America, I was afundraiser and executive at
(04:37):
UNICEF USA and, prior to that,at the AIDS Foundation of
Chicago, so I have reallyengaged in local efforts, global
efforts and now focusing onnational efforts here in the
United States.
And my team has the privilegeof working with our corporate
(04:57):
partnerships and that includescause marketing partnerships,
corporate foundations,individuals, volunteers,
employees who want to be engagedin a deeper and more meaningful
way, and we also get the chanceto work with individuals who
want to deeply invest in themission of Feeding America.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Awesome, wow, that's a long history of work in
nonprofit Impressive.
So in that role, what keeps youup at night?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities that
you face in your position?
It depends on when you ask me.
I will say currently what'skeeping me up at night and some
of our challenges andopportunities.
I would say increasing foodinsecurity in this country is a
(05:46):
big worry.
Neighbors in every county inthe US are experiencing this
challenge.
So sometimes people think ofthis as, oh, that's an urban
problem or that's a ruralproblem.
It is not.
It's a pretty universal problemat this point across the United
States.
A pretty universal problem atthis point across the United
(06:09):
States, and part of that is dueto rising food costs, to
inflation.
With all of that, the pressureon families also increases.
How am I going to juggle andmanage the pressure of paying
the rent or my mortgage, as wellas health care costs, and be
able to provide healthy andnutritious meals for my family?
We know that 47 million peoplein the United States are facing
(06:33):
food insecurity, and thatincludes 14 million kids, and I
think that part really keeps meup at night, being a mom myself,
and thinking of that difficultsituation, of the desire to want
to take care of your family anddoing everything you possibly
can to get there, and alsobalancing that with the fact
(06:53):
that sometimes you need help andyou need a little support.
So I feel good about that, thatwe are there for people in that
situation.
There's a lot of uncertaintyright now about how does
traditional philanthropy keep upwith that growing need and
demand.
And that kind of brings us tothe fact that these innovative
partnerships are criticallyimportant to how we meet the
(07:17):
need that exists across theentire United States.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, that's very true.
And that kind of leads me to mynext question.
You mentioned you came on boardright at the beginning of the
pandemic and you mentioned theway that people are interacting
with nonprofits and philanthropyis changing.
So how do you see that industrychanging and the people's
interactions changing and howare you?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
responding to those shifts.
Well, we know that customers instores at most retailers we
have learned that most want tosupport campaigns that benefit
their local communities.
They want to see where theimpact is landing and they want
(08:01):
to be able to touch and feelthat we meet this need by
regranting funds to local foodbanks in areas where the
donations are made.
So we're a nationalorganization with a very
hyper-local touchpoint and thatexists because we have this
fantastic network of reallywell-respected leaders who are
(08:23):
running food banks in their owncommunities and agencies and
pantries that exist in yourneighborhood.
So, as consumers and customersat the register increasingly use
mobile apps and digitalpayments, digital strategies are
more important than ever toensuring a successful cause
(08:45):
marketing campaign.
We're able to address this byensuring that companies that we
partner with will include astrong digital marketing plan,
and that really helps to ensurethat customers can engage both
in-store and online wheneverpossible.
The Fight Hunger, spark Changecampaign with Walmart really
(09:07):
exemplifies our commitment tothis local impact digital
engagement and really is a greatmodel and example of how we can
offer a lot of ways toparticipate in store online.
We try to make it really easyfor customers to support their
communities however they choose.
Another trend that I thinkwe're seeing and learning about
(09:32):
and is very relevant here, isthat overall employee engagement
is declining in the UnitedStates, and that's not specific
to engagement in causestore andonline, but engaging employees
(10:07):
by encouraging employees to askcustomers to donate at the
register, these campaigns cangive them a meaningful role in
making a real impact on hungerrelief and they see that come to
life in their own community.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Awesome, yeah to life in their own community, awesome
, yeah, that's reallyinteresting to hear the employee
engagement piece as a driverfor that campaign and you know
you mentioned the Fight HungerSpark Change campaign there.
I believe this is the 12thconsecutive year that all US
Walmart locations are teaming upwith their customers, their
suppliers, sam's Club membersand their employees for with
(10:44):
their customers, their suppliers, sams Club members and their
employees for the Fight HungerSpark Change campaign supporting
Feed America, feeding America.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Can you tell us more about the details of the
campaign?
Sure, yeah, every year since2014, all Walmart and SAMS Club
locations in America and thattotals more than 5,000 stores
and clubs activate, and theyactivate to fight hunger, spark
change.
It's a campaign that raisesfunds by prompting customers to
(11:14):
donate at the register again,both in-store and online
opportunities, and we also havethat activated through the
purchase of specially markedproducts from more than 20
suppliers.
So Fight Hunger, spark Changeis one of Feeding America's
largest cause marketingcampaigns, generating more than
(11:37):
206 million dollars since itsonset and helping to secure more
than 2 billion meals since 2014.
So the impact and the depth andthe scale of change that this
has brought about cannot beunderstated.
It's really incredible.
(11:57):
Wow, that's a huge impact.
So how did that partnership withWalmart initially come into
being and how have you seen itevolve over the last 12 years?
The partnership itself startedwith a million-dollar donation
from the Walmart Foundation, andthat was directly to Feeding
America in the wake of HurricaneKatrina in 2005.
(12:20):
2005.
So today, that partnership andthat initial interest in
supporting people in need andpeople facing hunger has grown
into one of the mosttransformative collaborations
that exists in the hunger reliefspace, hands down Local leaders
, walmart, sam's Clubdistribution centers, who are
(12:44):
donating surplus food to foodbanks and to agencies across the
Feeding America network.
All of these efforts result inthe donation of more than 9
billion pounds of food to thenetwork and that actually makes
Walmart and Sam's Club WalmartFoundation Feeding America's
(13:06):
largest donor, our largestsupporters.
So it started with that initialinterest and a lot of times
people, individuals, companiescome to Feeding America because
of a disaster right.
They may see in the media someheightened awareness of a need
that exists here in our owncommunities and in this case
(13:27):
this has grown into such anincredible impactful partnership
with longevity and reach that Idon't think any of us could
have foreseen that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I mean over the past 12 years.
I'm sure you guys have done alot of amazing things together,
and you mentioned some of themetrics from this most recent
year.
Are there any other milestonesthat you've achieved together
that you would want to highlight?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, definitely.
Walmart, sam's Club, WalmartFoundation have worked with
Feeding America and local foodbanks and food pantries and meal
programs to really transformthe charitable food experience
itself.
So for neighbors facing hunger,how they experience the network
is different and it's betterbecause of Walmart's engagement
(14:15):
Supporting Feeding America andlocal food banks over those,
with more than $271 million ofinvestment over the long term.
A big part of that $177 millionhas come from the company and
Walmart itself, but almost $95million has come from customers
(14:39):
and members of Walmart and Sam'sClub.
So if you ever are questioningwhen you're at the register and
you see that, would you like togive a dollar or would you like
to round up the 50 cents thatgoes to Fight Hunger, spark
Change, you should never wonderif those pennies or dimes or
dollars make a difference.
(14:59):
They absolutely do.
They have changed the way thatwe are able to engage with
people who are facing foodinsecurity in this country.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Wow, that's really great to hear what other
challenges has the partnershiphelped you address in your fight
against hunger.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Well, on a national level, feeding America faces
challenges like sourcing anddistributing food quickly,
rescuing food from food waste.
Walmart and the WalmartFoundation grants help Feeding
America and our network toreally maximize how we're
sourcing food and how we'resharing it among partner food
(15:41):
banks within the network.
It also helps us to expandcapacity to source and
distribute food more efficientlyto households who are
experiencing food insecurity.
So I'll give you a coupleexamples.
This includes Walmart's deepinvestments in grant making in
Feeding America's technologyplatforms, so these platforms
(16:03):
assist neighbors in getting thefood that they need to thrive.
Order Ahead, for example, is anapp, a platform developed by
Feeding America, that enablesneighbors to order food from a
food bank or a partner agencyand receive a home delivery, or
to pick up food at a convenientcommunity location and to pick
(16:27):
the foods that their familyreally needs and wants and
prefers.
That could include adrive-through distribution or
even a delivery locker and thatdigital experience for people
facing hunger.
It's intended to also minimizestigma so that food banks could
reach a wider audience and alsomeet neighbors where they are
(16:51):
and allow them to access thefood and nutrition that they
need for their families in areally highly dignified manner.
Meal connect is another greatexample of feeding America's
online platform that quicklyconnects retailers who are
looking to donate surplus foodright.
Retailers are getting so muchbetter, so much more efficient
(17:15):
about avoiding any waste, so weallow them to quickly connect
with nearby food banks andagencies, even for small pickups
of food that would otherwise goto landfill.
We're helping to divert that,so it's really exciting.
The investments go beyond whatyou might see on the surface to
(17:36):
a very comprehensive andholistic partnership.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Cool to hear so kind of shifting gears a little bit.
There's a lot of discussionright now among our members and
in the industry about emotionalloyalty.
How does, as a nonprofit, likeFeeding America what?
Speaker 2 (17:54):
does emotional loyalty mean to you and your
organization.
So for us, the outcome overallthat we are hoping to achieve is
increased public passion to endhunger, and part of the way we
do that and increase thatemotional loyalty about the
(18:17):
cause is through innovativecampaigns like Fight Hunger
Spark Change campaign.
Through innovative campaignslike Fight Hunger Spark Change
campaign, passion for the issueoverall among charitable givers
in the United States actuallycontinues to be at an all-time
high.
So it's increased by aboutthree points to 55% in the last
(18:41):
fiscal year, 2024.
So to us at Feeding America,this means that people are
inspired and they want to takeaction to help improve food
security in the United States.
A campaign like Fight HungerSpark Change through that helps
us to do a few things.
First of all, it helps us togenerate that awareness of and
(19:02):
engagement with the issue ofhunger locally and across the US
.
And it also helps us to sharelocal impact stories about how
the support that people who facehunger receive from food banks
and from local partners.
And then it connects that withhow Fight Hunger Spark changed,
(19:24):
with how Walmart Sam's Clubstrengthened those local
communities year-round, and howthat single person who's
standing at the register canalso play a big role in that.
So the campaign overall for usit really increases that loyalty
.
It engages customers through aninspirational messaging, really
(19:45):
increases that loyalty.
It engages customers through aninspirational messaging.
It tells the story of howdonations can help and it tells
the story of how neighborsexperience hunger and how you
can make a difference.
That's very interesting to hear.
I really appreciate yourperspective there.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So do you have future plans for partnerships with
Walmart and Sam's Club?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
We do.
We are so connected to Walmartand Sam's Club through these
deep investments over the yearsand through a true collaborative
partnership that has emerged.
The Fight Hunger, spark Changecampaign is just one aspect of a
much broader relationship andpartnership there with Walmart
(20:27):
that we of course hoped tocontinue to grow and to evolve
way into the future.
The campaign itself is aninitiative that specifically
helps raise that awareness withWalmart's customers and
employees associates and thatreally dovetails very well into
sustaining our impact-orientedwork together through what we
(20:51):
call our always-on programs,like food donations.
So what I haven't mentionedreally much at all yet is that
Walmart's donations of more thannine billion pounds of food to
the Feeding American Networkmake Walmart one of the largest
food donors in the country,helping people who are facing
(21:13):
hunger nationwide.
So the goal of our worktogether is to end hunger in
America and to look at how wecan do that together.
The goal will be going forwardis sustaining that work as the
need exists, decreasing thatneed, broadening the partnership
(21:34):
, including food donations.
Currently Walmart has a verystrategic grant focused on
expanding food access via foodrescue and modernizing food
donation data capabilities.
So there is more food out there.
We know that and we need tocontinue to get better about
(21:56):
ensuring that that food getsinto the hands of people who are
facing food insecurity and whocan use it today.
Wow, that's exciting that youhave such a firm foundation in
that partnership and it lookslike it's going to continue to
grow and build.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And I love to see how they're applying the technology
to help improve the outcomesfor everyone in their
communities.
That's really cool to hear.
So, in your quest to eliminatehunger in America, how does
Feeding America plan to innovateor expand its programs in the
future to try and achieve thatvery ambitious goal?
Speaker 2 (22:34):
We are always innovating, that's for sure, to
keep up with an ever-changinglandscape and environment and
the need.
Each year the US, for example,produces 92 billion pounds of
surplus food.
That is more than enough tohelp millions of people who are
(22:54):
experiencing food insecurity inthis country.
Yet the food doesn't alwaysreach the people who need the
food, the people who need thefood.
So by rescuing that surplusfood Feeding, america can play a
role in ensuring that perfectlygood food can safely make it
from fields, farmers, groceryshelves to tables and homes of
(23:19):
community members all across thecountry, members all across the
country.
We are also the country'slargest food rescue organization
.
We rescue surplus food fromgrocery stores, from food
manufacturers, from farms.
We redistribute all of that toget it to people who are facing
hunger.
Last year alone, we rescued 4.1billion pounds of wholesome
(23:45):
food, nutritious food, perfectlygood food.
That included about 3.5 billionpounds of produce, protein,
milk and dairy products.
And this is food that neighbors, people facing hunger, have
told us that they want us, thatthey want Everything that we do.
(24:06):
We try to center that on whatneighbors who are facing hunger
are telling us that they wantand they need to thrive in their
lives, and our partners play acritical role in this, not only
in the food rescue, but ineverything that we do.
Retail donations are actuallyour largest source of food for
the Feeding America Network.
We also get incredibledonations from farms.
(24:27):
We collaborate with other keypartners such as ConAgra, food
Lion, general Mills, kroger,tyson, in addition to this
incredible relationship withWalmart.
With all of them, we're notjust rescuing the food, we're
changing the way thatcommunities can access that food
.
So to meet this growing needthat I mentioned earlier across
(24:52):
the country, we at FeedingAmerica we've set a pretty
ambitious target that we want torescue an additional and
incremental 1 billion pounds offood by teaming up with even
more food and fund partners.
When we see a way that everyonecan play a part in this through
the Food Rescue Challenge atFeeding America, your viewers
(25:14):
can learn more about it atfeedingamericaorg and find a way
that, as an individual, you canplay a role as well.
So it's really exciting.
There's a lot of opportunityahead and we remain undaunted,
to the extent possible, by thechallenges that we're facing.
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
It's incredible to see your commitment to such a
challenging issue and it'sincredible to see the real life
impact that you're making on allof our neighbors and our
communities across the country.
So thank you so much forsharing all of that with us and
giving our viewers an insightinto kind of the depth and
breadth of what you donationwide.
(25:54):
So now it is time actually forour famous quickfire questions,
so that people can get to knowyou a little bit better.
So we like to try and keep theanswers here to one word or a
short phrase as we go through.
So here we go.
What word or short phrase doyou use to inspire?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
others, I like to say if you can't stop thinking
about it, don't stop working forit.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Oh, that's a good one .
What is your least favoriteword that others use?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Can't.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
What is your favorite food?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Maryland crab cakes.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Oh, that's a good one .
What excites you at work?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Visiting food bank partners and agencies and
meeting neighbors.
And then, what do you findtiresome at home or at work?
Oh, I don't like doing dishes.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Fortunately, I don't do them at work, but at home.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
I really don't like doing that, and there are lots
of them.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
What book do you like to recommend to your colleagues
?
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Radical Candor.
What book do you like torecommend to your colleagues?
Radical candor, and that'ssomething actually my colleagues
recommended to me and we'vekind of adopted that as a team,
as a book that we really haveleaned into awesome.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So what profession other than your current one
would you like to attempt?
Speaker 2 (27:23):
psychologist, sometimesologist.
Sometimes I feel like I usepsychology skills in my world,
but yeah, I think that would bereally interesting, cool.
So what do you enjoy doing thatyou don't get to do very often?
Kayak, I love to kayak.
I live in Chicago area.
I love to kayak.
(27:46):
I live in Chicago area.
The weather does not alwayspermit me to kayak.
So who inspired you to becomethe person that you are today?
That's a tough one, becausethere's not just one, I would
have to say my mom and dad.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Awesome, and how do you want to?
Speaker 2 (28:06):
be remembered by your friends and family.
I would like to be rememberedas the glue that kept us all
together.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Awesome.
Well Casey, thank you so muchfor taking the time to speak
with us today.
It was a pleasure speaking withyou and getting to learn more
about the mission of FeedingAmerica and how you're
increasing loyalty among peoplewho are interested in supporting
your cause.
So thank you everyone who tunedin to listen, and make sure you
check back next Thursday forthe next episode of Leaders in
(28:37):
Customer Loyalty Brand Stories.
We'll see you then.
Thank you.
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