This post originally appeared in the May 31 Morning Report. Get the free newsletter in your inbox today by clicking here.
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank has appointed a new leader nearly a year after its longtime CEO quietly and abruptly left the nonprofit at a time of unprecedented need.
The Food Bank announced last week that its board selected veteran Food Bank executive Casey Castillo, who has served as the agency’s interim CEO, to permanently lead the organization. Castillo has worked at the Food Bank since 2008 and previously served as its chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration.
Our Lisa Halverstadt broke the news last year that Jim Floros, who had served as the Food Bank’s CEO for nearly nine years, abruptly left the nonprofit last July. Last fall, Castillo said the Food Bank was serving nearly 550,000 people a month but was planning for future upticks in need along with rising food costs and the end of pandemic-tied aid and enhanced unemployment.
“We expect to feed a lot of people throughout the next couple years at a similar pace,” Castillo said.
Hunger organizations across the nation, including San Diego’s two major food banks, have reported dramatic spikes in demand in recent months. Last week, Castillo told NBC 7 San Diego he’s predicting even more need in coming weeks due to an expected July reduction in state food stamp benefits and the end of the school year, which will leave tens of thousands of low-income students without access to free and reduced-price meals at school.