The 2023 Leah's Pantry Annual Report
A Year of Thought Partnership
Introduction
In 2017, during a lunch with Board Member Eric Hazzard, we decided to align Leah’s Pantry’s organizational strategy with trauma-informed care. Eric encouraged me to assume the role of a thought leader in this area, marking the beginning of a strategic shift that profoundly influenced our trajectory.
Fast forward six years to a recent leadership retreat, where we delved into the concept of thought leadership and its relevance to our 2023 projects. There is ample evidence to support our status as thought leaders—we remain the national leader in providing professional training and developing programs in nutrition security that align with the science of trauma and resilience. In 2023, we provided training to more than 2,200 plus individuals and initiated the creation of 11 new curricula. By year-end, four of them were fully developed, and we began preparations for their public launch in 2024. We continue to evolve and refine our training content, incorporating leading practices and emerging research, and we are routinely invited to engage with teams across the country.
Listening to team leads describe their impact helped me see our role more accurately as thought partners. While we hold a leadership position in nutrition security, much of our growth comes from learning from our partners. Community voices shape our curriculum, input from CFHL implementers refines our training approaches, and platforms like Basecamp and the Nutrition Security Peer Learning Community (PLC) foster peer-to-peer collaboration.
Throughout our 2023 Annual Report, we emphasize our shift from thought leadership to thought partnership. Our organizational evolution has not happened in isolation; it has been shaped by the insights, expertise, and experiences shared by our partners.
I want to acknowledge and express gratitude to our program participants, board members, funders, partners, clients, and supporters. Without each of you, our impactful journey would not be possible. I look forward to the year ahead, marked by collaboration and partnership.
- Adrienne Markworth
Executive Director | Leah's Pantry
Table of Contents
Training Highlights
A Look At The NUMBERS
Leah’s Pantry continues to expand its in-person training offerings across the United States! Last year, we ran 50 plus trainings reaching 2200 plus participants across 16 states.
Facilitators Trained in 2023
Broken down by training type:
Capacity Building – 1,371
Curriculum Training – 794
PSE Training – 126
Number of Trainings
Plus an additional 13 CalFresh Healthy Living trainings.
Average Rating
Number of states we delivered trainings to
States included:
AR, AZ, CA, FL, IA, ID, IL, IN, KT, NC, NH, NY, OK, PA, SC, WI
Feedback on Our Trainings
[Y]our trainers were amazing. So much positive energy. Just wanted to say how much I appreciated the training and that I have already recommended it to our State SNAP-Ed implementing agency.
Food Smarts Training Participant
As an evaluator for a CFHL [local implementing agency], I am thrilled by the attention the team gave to connecting all the dots from the theory of change model to real-life examples. This bridges gaps between research and programmatic staff. Excellent overall! Can’t wait to rewatch the recording.
Theory of Change Participant
By far, the best training I’ve received on this industry-related topic! I learned just how critical it is to instill trauma-informed approach to all customer service-related activities, effective de-escalation tactics, and the importance of a written customer service policy that guides the way we all approach customer service. When intake staff is prepared, they are able to RESPOND rather than react.
Customer Service for Food Distributions Participant
We asked our training participants to pick three words to sum up their training experience. The most used words included:
Feeding America Learning Collaborative for Community Impact
Leah’s Pantry facilitated a dynamic learning collaborative with 10 Feeding America member food banks from across the United States. Each team developed a final project focusing on either capacity building or data collection in their organization or community.
This learning collaborative was a model of thought partnership, with our team guiding program design and planning, and participating teams contributing their deep community understanding for a nuanced and impactful approach.
Facing Hunger Foodbank, serving counties in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, explored the impact of cultural and historical trauma on food accessibility in southern West Virginia. Their final project involved establishing a food pantry specializing in culturally relevant foods, incorporating trauma-informed practices to address community-specific needs.
Growth of Community Nutrition Support
A Look At The NUMBERS
Our Nutrition Pantry Program (NPP) takes a trauma-informed approach to supporting policy systems, and environmental changes at food distribution sites.
Active NPP Partners
Sites added last year
Growth from the previous year
203 Total NPP Pantry Locations Across the U.S.
Partnering with MANNA Food Bank for Trauma-Informed Training Excellence
In January, the Food Security Team collaborated with MANNA Food Bank in Asheville, North Carolina, to deliver a custom training for MANNA’s staff and agencies. Developed in partnership with MANNA’s leadership, the training aimed to empower their network with insights into the impact of trauma and resilience on communities through two asynchronous sessions—an entry-level overview and a deep dive into core concepts.
MANNA’s leadership emphasized the importance of learning best practices for trauma-informed client engagement and sharing actionable examples of how a trauma-informed approach can be applied within a food pantry. To ensure effectiveness, MANNA piloted the training in their food bank, gathering staff feedback before extending it to the entire network.
Feedback implemented following the pilot including incorporating more local examples and creating training videos featuring their own team members as the facilitators. MANNA sought feedback from the community, adopting a trauma-informed approach to develop this important training to maximize its impact on those served in their region. MANNA plans to roll out the training to their network in early 2024.
A New Approach to Curriculum Development
New Curriculum IN THE WORKS
The Curriculum Development Team began construction of 11 different curricula in 2023.
- Body Connection
- Kids’ Body Connection
- Fostering Nourished Families
- Around the Table with Dads
- Around the Table with Elders
- Around the Table with Young Children: An Early Childhood Education Toolkit (PSE)
- Around the Table with Young Children:
Parent-Child Workshop - Sharing Traditions Around the Table
- Food Smarts Waste Reduction for Kids
- Food Smarts for College Students
- Food Smarts for Disability Communities
Empowering the Next Generation of Health Educators
We partnered with Chico State and its Center For Healthy Communities (CHC) to revise the Food Smarts curriculum for college students. This collaborative approach involved recruiting and training student educators to run focus groups and pilot the curriculum. Our curriculum development team has observed that this collaboration strategy has proven effective for an equity-driven approach to curriculum development
The outcomes were presented at the CFHL forum, where the student educators shared their growth as individuals and leaders. They highlighted how facilitating the curriculum provided them with the language to authentically engage with peers, allowing them to “bring personality,” “put [their] spin on it,” “be real,” and be “sensitive to what [students] are going through.”
Moving in the Pantry
Everybody Loves Line dancing
This year, we introduced Everybody Loves Line Dancing, a new CFHL curriculum designed to engage older adults and individuals with disabilities in physical activity while discussing nutrition. Successfully piloted in San Francisco, the program reached 140 participants, including formerly homeless veterans and chair-bound older adults who moved their bodies to the beats of classic soul, R&B, hip hop, and country music.
We understand that isolation and loneliness negatively impact health, so beyond evaluating health behaviors, the pilot explored participants’ feelings about social isolation and belonging. The findings revealed a positive impact, indicating the workshops contributed to an improved sense of belonging. We are expanding the program to new sites in the year ahead.
Through our Wiser Dining intervention, we also installed recumbent bikes, small weights, and exercise equipment, and water and flavor stations at congregate meal sites across five housing communities, benefitting more than 250 formerly homeless veterans. As we move forward, our dedication to holistic well-being remains at the forefront.
Patricia Copeland, Everybody Loves Line Dancing Instructor, leads movement classes in Northern California
Technology Corner
Virtual SPaces That Connect our Conversations
While our in-person trainings and events made a welcome return, our team remains dedicated to leveraging technology to connect with a wider audience. This year marked the launch the Nutrition Security Peer Learning Community–a platform for peer-to-peer learning that extends not only to our partners but also to our own team.
Additionally, we introduced Stocking the Pantry: A CalFresh Healthy Living Podcast, hosted by Leah’s Pantry staff, Colby D’Onofrio and Tanesha Atwell. Together, they facilitate discussions with health professionals and their communities, exploring diverse topics relevant to the work of CFHL professionals.
Our Growing Team
Our TEAM By the Numbers
The team at Leah’s Pantry continues to grow in size and impact! In 2023, we welcomed 32 new team members (13 full-time and 19 part-time staff), representing a remarkable 117% increase in staff size from the previous year! Together, we are cultivating an organization of belonging, where every member plays a vital role in our shared success and collective impact.
New staff in 2023
Percent increase from 2022
Total staff
Kudos to our 2023 staff
Becca Fink
Kristine Lockwood
Jenay Anolin
Kat Schmidt
Jaci Westbrook
Tony Liu
Daniella Daniels
Dale Eblacas
Megginn Yuen
Carlos Alessandrini
Ana Shannon
Gabriel Largie
Samantha Morris
Joe Cancilla
Daniel Parrish
Julie Andrews-Scott
Kim Soroka
Lura Jones
Sandra Fiz
Rita Palmer
Kennedy Valadez
Jennifer Weissman
Crystal Bowne
Amber Viveros
Alejandra Morales
Adrienne Markworth
Monica Bhagwan
Carrie Richerson
Lauren Small
Dolores Molina
Kristine Brendecke
Joyce Zhang
Nancy Tran
Paul Lasso
Camille Altmann
Colby D’Onofrio
Dana Henderson
Eunice Rivera
Kylie Gacad
Ian Lubin
David Pettijohn
Leah Quinn
Eva Lee
Tanesha Atwell
Thank You to Our Donors and Funders
To all our donors, funders, and partners—thank you for helping us improve the health, wellness, and resilience of communities through trauma-informed nutrition security.
Thank You for Reading
Interested in learning more about our trainings, curricula, or programs?
Want to learn more about how we can partner to create healthier communities?
Contact us.