Gloria McAdam, president and CEO of Bloomfield’s Foodshare for the past 30 years, is leaving to lead a similar organization in her home region of northern New York, the food pantry nonprofit said.
McAdam will remain at Foodshare until the end of the year, after which point she will become executive director of GardenShare, based in Canton, N.Y.
Christine O’Rourke, chief operating officer, will serve as interim CEO while Foodshare searches for a permanent replacement..
“St. Lawrence County is not only one of the poorest counties in New York State, but is my home, where I grew up, went to college, and where much of my family still lives,” McAdam said in an email to supporters Friday afternoon. “The opportunity to bring my skills and my passion for ending hunger back to the place I still call home was one I could not pass up.”
Foodshare has grown substantially under McAdam, who received a lifetime achievement award from the Hartford Business Journal in 2013.
The organization distributed 14 million pounds of food last year to pantries in Hartford and Tolland counties, according to its website. That’s about 100 times more than the amount of food distributed when McAdam took the reins in 1984.
In a statement, Leslie Soler, chair of Foodshare’s board, called McAdam an inspiration.
“We will miss her terribly, but her drive to build this organization into a fiscally sound force against hunger leaves it strong and resilient,” Soler said. “As a result, Foodshare’s mission, work, and current fund-development efforts will not be affected by this transition.”
