All Faiths Food Bank CEO Sandra Frank Honored

December 27, 2023 – Sarasota

On December 15, All Faiths Food Bank (AFFB) hosted a retirement celebration event at Michael’s On  East in honor of the organization’s retiring CEO Sandra Frank. In attendance were food bank board members and staff, community leaders and funders, national food bank network leaders Stephanie Dragatisis, vice president of member engagement, and Mark Biewald, senior director of member engagement for Feeding America, and Robin Safley, executive director of Feeding Florida. 

The festivities opened with a welcome by AFFB Board Chair Terri Vitale, followed by tributes from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation President|CEO Teri A Hansen and community leaders/philanthropists Keith Monda and Veronica Brady. Frank took the stage to discuss her time at AFFB, with plentiful thanks for those who supported the food bank’s growth and evolution, as well as her personal and professional endeavors. Incoming President & CEO Nelle S. Miller then spoke about her longtime friendship with Frank and the proud legacy she leaves behind, and how the work she will do is only possible because of the foundation Frank has laid.

Guests enjoyed a video highlighting Frank’s impact on the organization and the community. Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot added her thoughts through video as well, expressing her admiration for Frank’s “compassion and passion, dedication and ‘stick-to-it-iveness’.” She noted that Frank has served as a source for her and closed by saying, “I’m confident that you will leave that food bank in great hands and that we, together, will move forward on your vision.”

In her 12 years at All Faiths, Frank has led the organization to boldly rethink and re-envision the food bank to ensure that ending hunger extends beyond the traditional “food in, food out” model and targets underlying causes to end hunger before it begins. With guidance from Feeding America, Frank set All Faiths apart by being one of the early food banks in the nation to initiate program assessment and evaluation – activities that are crucial in better understanding hunger and supporting the communities served.

Working alongside the board of directors and senior leadership team, she launched a new mission and rebranding of the organization in 2018.

By building a strong leadership infrastructure, Frank spearheaded the expansion of the food bank to double the warehouse, refrigeration and community space in 2018, while bolstering AFFB’s future capacity by purchasing adjacent property for further expansion.

In partnership with visionary funders, she helped create the foundation for All Faiths’ exemplary fundraising program, including the Campaign Against Summer Hunger – Frank’s self-proclaimed proudest achievement during her tenure – which provides food to students and their siblings during the summer months when schools are closed. This year marked the tenth anniversary of the Campaign, which has raised over $16 million and feeds more than 35,000 children every summer.

Together with donors, Frank oversaw the opening of the DeSoto County Food and Resource Center, a national model for addressing hunger and providing social services in rural communities; based on the pilot’s success and substantiated by assessments, the facility and services have expanded in 2023. 

Frank has directed All Faiths with intense focus and determination throughout a global pandemic, devastating hurricanes and record levels of need. Her leadership has earned All Faiths Food Bank national and local recognition – including recent honors from Florida Trend as one of Florida’s “Best Companies To Work For” – as a pioneer and model in the program areas of hunger and health, evaluation and rural hunger.

“The food bank is the bedrock of the community. Our job is to strengthen, deepen, expand and diversify that foundation so that – regardless of what occurs – the food bank is forward facing, has a plan and is prepared,” said Frank. “Today, I feel your respect, your affection, your happiness for me, and your understanding that it’s time for me to step away, relax and enjoy. The food bank will always be the bedrock of this community and I know it is in good hands.”

Miller will assume leadership of the food bank on January 2, 2024. For more about AFFB’s work, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org.