Introducing our new Food Pantry Director

I am pleased to announce that Melissa Frazier is Bread for the City's new Food & Clothing Director.

This news makes me extremely proud of Melissa and our community. She is a true Bread for the City success story -- demonstrating how much a person can accomplish with the right kind of support.

Melissa first came to us in 1997, a year after giving birth to her son, when she needed help making ends meet. She found that help in our food pantry. A year later, when she needed a physical for a job application, she turned to our health clinic for medical checkups that she wouldn't have been able to afford elsewhere.

Melissa wanted to get more involved, and by 2002 she was volunteering at our front desk, and soon enough, she was hired as our Clothing Bank coordinator. It wasn't long before she was promoted to Bread for the City's facilities manager.

All along, Melissa trained under the watchful and supportive eye of Ted Pringle, our longtime Food & Clothing Program director. You may remember that Ted tragically passed from us last year. In the time since -- most crucially during our Holiday Helpings season -- Melissa served as an interim leader of the pantry. I'm thrilled to report that her leadership during this difficult time was steadfast and effective. As of the start of this year, she assumed the role of Food & Clothing Program Director.

"It's going to be a big challenge," Melissa told me about her new job, "but I am excited and honored to carry forth Ted's legacy in this community."

We are excited and honored to have her with us. And there is more exciting news to come out of our Food Program this month. So stay tuned!