After 22 years, EFAA bade Food Bank Manager, Liz Rowland farewell for retirement. EFAA is excited to welcome Walter O’Toole who brings years of experience working to end hunger through food pantries like ours!

What distinguishes EFAA from other food pantries you’ve worked with? EFAA is very participant oriented. EFAA is offering a lot of food choice throughout the pandemic. It’s also evident the strength of EFAA’s volunteer program–I can really rely on them. I also think EFAA’s holistic approach to helping people experiencing hunger is impressive. The root of hunger is poverty. EFAA offers resources, referrals, housing in addition to food.

What are you most excited about at EFAA? I’m excited to dig into participants’ tastes so that we can cater to the needs and preferences of the community better. I want EFAA’s stock to be reflective of the kinds of foods our community wants.

What is one thing you hope to improve? I’m looking forward to expanding our new home delivery service. This is something that arose very quickly to meet the needs of the moment [pandemic], but a lot of our participants have transportation barriers that aren’t going to go away.

Tell us something about yourself that people may not know about you. I play in a metal band with another staff member at EFAA.