(Mesa, AZ – October 3, 2022) – United Food Bank announced today that President and Chief Executive Officer, Dave Richins, has resigned his position.

“Over the past five years, Dave has done an exemplary job leading United Food Bank,” says Cathy Chlarson, chair of the board of directors. “On behalf of the board of directors and staff of United Food Bank and Waste Not, we express our gratitude for his dedication to ensuring that both agencies remained strong for the community, especially during COVID. Through his innovative leadership, United Food Bank has become an established leader in the community, and we’re looking forward to continuing to meet and exceed expectations as we bring food stability to people in need throughout Arizona.”

Under Dave’s leadership, United Food Bank not only continued working and serving clients throughout the Covid pandemic but was able to thrive and grow. The organization is strong, healthy, and financially secure and, through our exceptional leadership, staff and board, will continue to expand to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

“It has been an honor to lead one of Arizona’s legacy non-profits. United Food Bank has had a long life of great leadership and it was a career highlight for me to be able to lead this great organization and amazing team.” says Dave Richins.

Mike Suriano will serve as the interim President and CEO of United Food Bank. Mike recently retired from Southwest Food Service Excellence after a long career in finance. He has served on the boards of United Food Bank, Waste Not and is the current board chair for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

A national search will be launched in October to identify the organization’s next President and CEO. We will continue to share updates throughout the search process and are grateful for the community support during this time.

Again, we thank Dave, for his years of enthusiastic and passionate service to our mission. His unwavering dedication and vision for a food secure Arizona has inspired us all. He will be greatly missed by the staff, board, and our supporters. We wish him all the best in his new endeavors with Resolution Copper.

 If you have any questions or concerns during this transition process, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

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Press Contact: Ginger John, Communications Manager

gjohn@unitedfoodbank.org or cell 480-235-5062

United Food Bank has provided hunger relief to people in the East Valley and eastern Arizona since 1983. As a Feeding America member food bank, we collect, acquire, store, and distribute food to over 150 partner agencies in five counties. Last year, United Food Bank distributed more than 22.7 million pounds of food, 52,000 meals per day. We depend on thousands of volunteer hours annually to accomplish this work. Find out more about us at unitedfoodbank.org

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