PROVIDENCE – The leader of North Dakota's largest hunger relief organization will head to the Ocean State to take the top role at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
The state’s largest food distribution nonprofit announced late Monday that Melissa S. Cherney will succeed Andrew Schiff as its next CEO this summer. Schiff is
retiring from the food bank after leading it for more than 17 years, helping area residents in need, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.
“I am incredibly honored to join the Rhode Island Community Food Bank,” Cherney said in a statement. “I look forward to carrying on the work and legacy that Andrew Schiff has built over the years, improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders.”
The food bank says Cherney, a North Dakota native who grew up on a family farm, understands the mission to end hunger as she experienced food insecurity in her life. In receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for a period to help make ends meet, Cherney saw firsthand the difference these support efforts can make, according to the food bank.
The food bank says Cherney has led the Great Plains Food Bank since 2019, both as president and then as CEO. The Great Plains Food Bank serves more than 70,000 people monthly through 200 distribution sites. Cherney led programs to help increase food access across North Dakota, as well as lobbying legislators, advocating for policy change and strengthening community partnerships, the food bank says.
Cherney serves on the Food Sourcing Advisory Council and as vice chairperson of the Policy Engagement and Advocacy Committee for Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people, the food bank says. Cherney will take over as chair of PEAC on Jan. 1, 2026, the food bank says, and will serve in that role for two years.
Now, Cherney will lead the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which
has seen record need since the pandemic. In its 2024 fiscal year, the food bank distributed 18.3 million pounds of food, a 13% increase from the 16.2 million pounds the food bank allocated in 2023.
Additionally, the food bank said at the time it served an average of 82,600 people per month over the last 12 months in fiscal 2024. That figure, the food bank said, is 15% higher year over year and 50% more people served pre-pandemic.
The food bank last year also said food needs in Rhode Island increased by 43% between 2002 and this year, and the Rhode Island Life Index says nearly 1 in 3 households are considered “food insecure.” Plus, 38% of households with children in the state are food insecure, the food bank says.
“From her personal experience to her strong record of advocacy and nonprofit leadership, Melissa is the right leader for this moment as the Rhode Island Community Food Bank navigates uncertainty nationally and unprecedented need locally,” Jyothi Subramaniam, the food bank’s board president, said in a statement. “Melissa has the skills and experience necessary to carry out our mission of ensuring that no Rhode Islander goes hungry.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
