Each week, we like to shine a spotlight on our amazing volunteers, donors, & New Albany Pantry Leadership team.
This week’s Pantry Spotlight is Jennifer Wilcoxon.
After moving to New Albany, Jennifer found herself joining the NAFP as a volunteer in the summer of 2018. She not only wanted to help people in the community but also saw volunteering as an opportunity to meet different people and get her kids involved with helping in the community.
In January of this year, she took on the role of Executive Director for the New Albany Food Pantry. Her favorite thing about her position is meeting and talking to different families, hearing their stories, and helping them as much as possible.
She now spends the majority of her time working on community outreach and reaching out to donors, organizations, and corporations in the community. She also spends much of her time sharing the NAFP’s mission, working with them, and asking for their support.
During her time at the Pantry, Jennifer says she has learned to become a better listener, have a better understanding of people in general, and now understands more about food insecurity and the needs of different families. As a result, NAFP has become a big part of her life.
Not long after Jennifer transitioned into the Executive Director position, the Covid-19 pandemic began. While dealing with the fallout of the pandemic has definitely presented some challenges (such as having to temporarily relocate operations to the Philip Heit Center at one point), Jennifer and the NAFP team persevered and found a way to continue successfully serving clients while still following all of the latest guidelines.
Jennifer believes that the most fulfilling thing about her job is hearing feedback from clients about how much their lives have been made easier and improved.
When asked “what is one thing you wish people knew about NAFP"?” she replied “I wish people knew that there is need everywhere; including New Albany. Suburban poverty is on the rise and my goal is to increase community awareness.”
Be sure to come back here to check out the NAFP Blog for future volunteer, donor and Leadership Spotlights.