ACFB names news director; Outgoing director to help during transition of roles
By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news
As of Nov. 3, Ashland Community Food Bank has a new director at the reins.
Catie Mahoney, who comes to the role from Pennsylvania, also brings with her a decade of experience as a senior director of food access and education for a food bank in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and as former co-owner of a vegetable farm. Mahoney will serve in the role with guidance from outgoing director Amey Broeker, who will officially retire on Dec. 31 after serving in the food bank role since 2022.
“Catie’s named us the ‘dynamic duo,’” Broeker said. “We have a good balance of resources that we can offer to one another.
“I have the organizational, historical reference,” she said. “Catie has a tremendous tool belt, having been deeper in the food bank world in a larger setting. She has great ideas that we’ve never had so she’s bringing a lot to the table in terms of how we manage the potential of the type of growth we’re in.”
Mahoney started amid the first week of the loss of November SNAP benefits, and has navigated her first week with multiple changes at the federal level.
“It’s definitely heavy and, given that we are on the front lines, working with our neighbors, it’s important for us to make sure that we are supportive and bringing our best smiles and still ensuring the same level of service that we always do and that’s the benefit of us being a private organization and receiving such awesome support from the community,” Mahoney told Ashland.news this week. “We’re able to keep that service and maintain that level of support even if there are changes in government funding.”
Mahoney is no stranger to experiencing issues related to funding for food banks.
While in her role in Pennsylvania, she said the budget was delayed and hasn’t been approved for the year.
“A lot of the funds that we were relying on for food purchasing were coming through state and federal sources,” Mahoney said. “A lot of those were tied to how we purchased directly from local farms and that was a really difficult thing to navigate because we had already made commitments to our local farmers and we wanted to prioritize that and continue to purchase from them.”
Mahoney shared how she was part of a team that more than doubled distribution of food in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
“We went from distributing less than 3 million pounds (of food) when I first started working at the food bank to over 6 million and are trending to hit like 10 million this year,” Mahoney said.
“In order to build capacity, we really looked at … our existing physical infrastructure to maximize space.
“That’s something that Amey and I are talking a lot about, because we are seeing increased demand right now,” Mahoney added. “Even though the SNAP supports have come through for this month, there’s still a level of uncertainty as to what the next six months and the next year are going to look like. We’re working to ensure that we’re set up to be able to meet any increases that we’re seeing.”
Broeker said that as of Wednesday, Nov. 12, when she looked back to Oct. 12, “It feels like we’ve had so many new people.”
“We had almost double the number of new households we would normally have in a 30-day period,” Broeker said.
“A client can come one time a month, they can come four times a month,” she added. “Often what can happen in a period like this where SNAP is reduced or lost, a household that might only come once before now is coming four times a month.”
Broeker encouraged individuals and families who will continue to be impacted by the lapse in SNAP funding.
“Get set up with us,” Broeker said.
Broeker also emphasized that rising healthcare premiums are also a concern for many and can affect access to food.
“The premiums are going up dramatically,” Broeker said. “Those same households, they’ve had so many cuts.
“It’s layer after layer after layer of … financial challenges that our community members (who) are on the edge financially are having to navigate,” she added.
Federal cutbacks in transportation have also led to RVTD cutting Route 17, which makes it difficult for those utilizing services from the food bank.
“It would be wonderful if a public transportation solution was created to ensure that people can access food,” Broeker said.
“The closest bus stop is a half a mile away,” she added.
Broeker notes the food bank provides services also to friends, neighbors and family members on behalf of individuals who can’t make it to the food bank.
“So if you have somebody who can shop for you, we are happy to set them up on your account,” Broeker said. “It can be really helpful.”
The most important thing for Mahoney as she steps into the role is ensuring the continuation of the “community centered approach” at Ashland Community Food Bank.
“That’s something that I’ve always felt really passionate about,” Mahoney said. “I think, here, that is already taking place.
“Staff and volunteers both are really, really thoughtful about the approach when working with all of the neighbors in the community,” she added. “Making sure that we’re well-informed about what foods make the most sense to have on hand and things like that.
“I’m also really passionate about having a nutrition focus and the fact that we are able to provide fresh food here in addition to the canned goods and non-perishables is amazing and another reason why it’s great to have the community support because we have local gardeners who are providing produce to use during the growing season and so that’s a nice way to have a well-rounded grocery list.”
Having been former co-owner of a small vegetable farm in Pennsylvania, she provided educational opportunities to local students, along with access to food.
On her first day on the job, Mahoney visited students at Willow Wind Community Learning Center to talk with local students, and on Wednesday, she met with a group of volunteers during a training at the food bank.
“I think that kind of ties into the growing piece, both learning how to grow your own food, but also how to utilize the food that’s being provided,” she said. “If we have a vegetable that might be more uncommon, ensuring that we have recipes and other materials to provide to neighbors so that they’re able to utilize those food resources.”
Both Mahoney’s and Broeker’s work at the food bank is personal.
How you can get — or give — help
For those looking to donate, Broeker said the food bank could especially use canned protein such as chicken, fish or tofu.
Food is available to residents of Talent and Ashland. To learn more, go online at ashlandcfb.org or call the food bank at 541-488-9544.
The food bank, located at 560 Clover Lane, Ashland, operates five days per week and in addition, the third Saturday of the month, which falls on Saturday, Nov. 15.
“When I was younger, we utilized some support services and, at the time, there wasn’t really a focus on having fruits and veggies and other fresh items in those types of spaces. That shifted luckily to reprioritize having a well-balanced grocery list that’s available at food banks and food cupboards,” Mahoney said.
While attending what is now Walnut Hill College, a culinary school, Mahoney started working at a women and children’s center that was prioritizing the nutrient content of the meals being served.
“I had the opportunity to work with moms and kids to grow food there and then include those items that were being grown into meals directly being served at the shelter,” she said. “So that gave me just so much joy to be able to experience that with families and to help to build those skills. That’s kind of what led me to want to be more involved in food system work, especially in a space that prioritized that: fresh fruits and veggie access.”
For Broeker, she recalled as a single mom not going to a food bank because she felt ashamed.
“It still makes me teary,” Broeker said.
She noted that that stigma is changing and emphasized everyone who needs it is welcome at the food bank.
“This was a full circle for me to work here,” Broeker said. “And I feel really passionate about that message because you know, I went without health insurance for 15 years because I couldn’t afford it. For most of my daughter’s life, I couldn’t put money away for college because I was too proud to use the food bank.”
Broeker expressed confidence in passing the organization — which she sees as having a fantastic foundation from which to move forward — to Mahoney.
“What I would love to see happen in the near future is just fully immerse myself in this community and learn as much as possible from Amey, our staff, and our volunteers who have been doing this work for such a long time in this particular space,” Mahoney said. “That’s my No. 1 goal — I’m a sponge, I want to learn everything I can and, in part, I think I would love to have a neighbor-centered approach in doing that, gathering feedback from as many of the folks who are coming to visit the pantry as possible in addition to learning from our staff and volunteers.”
Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].
Related stories:
Farmers market rolls out emergency program as SNAP funds stall (Nov. 10, 2025)
Ashland Food Project launches campaign to keep up with demand (Nov. 4, 2025)
SNAP recipients brace for benefit cutoff: ‘I don’t know how to do it with nothing’ (Oct. 31, 2025)
Local food banks struggle as demand increases while funding decreases (Sept. 14, 2025)
City Corner: Feeding two birds with one bag (Feb. 25, 2025)
Ashland Community Food Bank wins further support for fighting children’s food insecurity (Jan. 21, 2025)
Ashland Community Food Bank: ‘We are here for the community, because of the community’ (Nov. 29, 2024)
