It’s been an honor to serve
As the incoming Director of Westside Food Bank in August 1989, I had no idea of the extraordinary path we would follow over the next three decades. The skill of our staff and the generosity of volunteers and donors, large and small, made it possible to improve and expand our food supply as local need grew, increasing our distribution 500% up to 2019, and now allowing us to further double our service since the arrival of the COVID pandemic.
On May 20, 2022, I will be retiring. Westside Food Bank will continue to be an essential presence after my departure. Our Board of Directors includes highly skilled and committed members. Genevieve Riutort, an eighteen-year veteran staff member and our current Deputy Director, will succeed me. She is fully ready to build on our successes, meeting increasing community needs, improving our services, and assuring Westside Food Bank’s continued sustainability, while being a careful steward of each donated dollar.
Please know how personally grateful I am for everyone’s support in helping us create a better-nourished community on the Westside of Los Angeles. I hope you will remain in touch with WSFB as the Food Bank’s future continues to unfold.
Warm regards,
Executive Director, Westside Food Bank
Be a Part of Honoring Bruce by contributing to the Bruce Rankin Sustainability Fund
Message from Westside Food Bank’s Board of Directors
The Westside Food Bank Board of Directors is pleased to share some important and exciting news.
The Board of Directors has selected Genevieve Riutort as the next leader of the Westside Food Bank. Genevieve will succeed the Food Bank’s Executive Director of more than thirty years, Bruce Rankin, upon his retirement on May 20, 2022.
Many of you may already know Genevieve, who is currently the Westside Food Bank’s Deputy Director and Chief Development Officer and has been with the Food Bank since 2004. Genevieve has led the Food Bank’s fund development and communications efforts through nearly two decades of steady growth, and she helped adapt and expand the Food Bank’s operations in response to the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a more than 90% increase in the amount of food distributed by Westside Food Bank over the last two years.
As someone who has the lived experience of being a single mother raising three children in the face of food and housing insecurity, and as a woman of color from a Puerto Rican family, Genevieve will bring added insight to her leadership role. Throughout her career at Westside Food Bank, this firsthand knowledge has informed her approach and fueled her commitment to our mission, vision, and values. We are excited to have Genevieve move our work forward as the executive transition begins this Spring.
We are grateful to Bruce Rankin for his 33 years of leadership, partnership, and service to Westside Food Bank and the community, and we are so proud of all that he has accomplished. Under Bruce’s leadership, the Westside Food Bank has grown from a scrappy grassroots effort to a central organization in the community’s food assistance network, working with over 55 non-profit social service member agencies to distribute millions of pounds of food each year to over 200,000 individuals in need and their families in western Los Angeles County, while being a careful steward of every donated dollar.
Genevieve’s appointment is the product of a rigorous selection process led by the Board’s Executive Committee with the assistance of the Center for Non-Profit Management, building on the ongoing succession planning process put in place by the Board of Directors and the leadership team as part of Westside Food Bank’s Strategic Plan.
We will have opportunities in the weeks ahead for you to meet and hear from Genevieve directly, and to honor Bruce on his upcoming retirement. In the meantime, thank you for all you do to support Westside Food Bank.
Shivaun Cooney,
Board Chair, Westside Food Bank
