After years of supporting the local food recovery organization through her work at Bank of America, the Market Executive deepens her involvement with Spoonfuls
NEWTON, MA – New England’s largest food recovery organization, Spoonfuls, announced today that Erin Sutherland, Senior Vice President, Market Executive, Massachusetts at Bank of America, has joined its Board of Directors. The move is a deepening of Spoonfuls’ relationship with Sutherland, who has been involved with Spoonfuls since 2020, through her role at Bank of America.
Said Sutherland, “Good food shouldn’t go to waste, especially not as so many of our neighbors are experiencing food insecurity. I have always admired Spoonfuls’ dedication to addressing these issues – and their model is a smart and scalable one. There’s much to do, and I’m eager to play a role in this critical work.”
Erin was introduced to Spoonfuls through its partnership with Bank of America, where she has championed the bank’s work in the community since 2000. Bank of America has been a long time Spoonfuls supporter. Spoonfuls is a past recipient of the Bank of America Neighborhood Builder grant, has received funding for food insecurity initiatives during the pandemic, and most recently was named a charity partner for the 129th Boston Marathon. Bank of America’s support over its nearly 15 years involvement with Spoonfuls has enabled the organization to recover over 1,500,000 pounds of fresh, healthy food – enough for 1,200,000 meals.
Said Spoonfuls’ Founder and CEO, Ashley Stanley, “Bank of America is such a vital contributor to Spoonfuls’ work, and our relationship with the company has only deepened in Erin’s time. Erin is a valued addition to our Board of Directors, bringing a commitment to community, executive leadership experience, and a background in nonprofit philanthropy to the position.”
Before coming to Bank of America, Sutherland spent much of her career in the nonprofit sector in program administration, fundraising, special events, and donor services with the Community Foundation of Broward, Miami Children’s Museum, and Big Brothers Big Sisters in Boston and New Hampshire. Passionate about service, Erin is an active volunteer in her community and has been a Big Sister for many years in both Boston and Florida. She served on the Boards of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, City Year Miami, and Leadership Broward before relocating back to Boston in early 2020. She is also a current Board Member for the Boston Plan for Excellence.
The growth of Spoonfuls’ Board of Directors comes at an exciting time for the organization as it continues to deliver on its ambitious strategic plan and works to meet a growing need for food across Massachusetts. The food recovery organization currently keeps more than 110,000 pounds of good food out of landfills each week. That number will continue to grow as Spoonfuls focuses on initiatives to improve operational efficiencies, enabling them to recover more food each day in its existing service regions alongside a planned geographic expansion to Southeastern Massachusetts later this year.
Food waste is the number one material in Massachusetts’ waste stream. Across the United States, 31% of food – 237 million tons – goes to waste each year (ReFED). At the same time, 1 in 6 households in Massachusetts is experiencing food insecurity (Project Bread). Spoonfuls works with 300+ partners across the state to recover good, excess food before it can be wasted and distributes it to food programs, like pantries, shelters, afterschool programs, and more.