The Food Bank Speakers' Bureau

Request a Speaker for Your Organization

How many Rhode Islanders rely on a food pantry to meet their basic food needs?  How many of those people are children? What kind of food does the Rhode Island Community Food Bank distribute? What’s the impact of hunger on the senior population?

Questions like these and many others can be answered by members of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank Speakers’ Bureau. 

More than a dozen trained speakers are available to give free presentations to local businesses, civic groups, schools, faith communities and other organizations interested in understanding the issue of hunger in Rhode Island.

Staffed by a combination of Food Bank employees and volunteers, the Speakers’ Bureau is available for both formal and informal presentations to groups of all sizes, including school groups in third grade or higher. Many of the Speakers’ Bureau members belong to the Food Bank’s Women Ending Hunger volunteer organization, which has taken a leadership role in educating the public about the challenges faced by hungry families in Rhode Island.

Pictured here are two of the Women Ending Hunger members who volunteer their time to speak on behalf of the Food Bank.  Leigh Reposa (left) is Program Manager for the Rhode Island Student Assistance Services Youth Suicide Prevent Program, and Linda Ward (right) is Executive Director of Opportunities Unlimited, Inc. They are joined on the Speakers' Bureau by a diverse group of volunteers from all walks of life.

To request a speaker for your organization, email Cindy Elder or call 401-230-1674.