Employee Spotlight: Hannah Kane

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"753","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-11047","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","alt":"staff-spotlight-hannah"}}]]Hannah recently joined the Food Bank staff as a Child Hunger Specialist . In this employee spotlight she shares how she continues to give back to the community by volunteering with other nonprofits in Austin. 

What does your job entail?

As a Programs Coordinator, I was focusing mainly on two of our programs, HOPE (Healthy Options Program for the Elderly) and FFFF (Fresh Food for Families). I was placing orders for the partners, maintaining those partner relationships, doing site visits, making sure everything was running smoothly. As Child Hunger Specialist I will be working with our child focused programming through Kids Cafe and the Summer Food Service Program.

What pastimes do you enjoy outside of the office?

I like to run, I did the Austin Half Marathon in February. I’m also on the Austin Women’s Gaelic Football Team. It’s actually not football or soccer, it’s an Irish sport that’s a mix of soccer and rugby but a little less physical. I’m also on the Slow Food Austin board.

Tell me more about Slow Food Austin:

Slow Food is an international organization that advocates for people to reconnect with their food and where their food comes from. Their motto is “Goof, clean and fair food for all.” Here at the Austin chapter, we do monthly happy hours, “Slow Sessions” where people can come meet local vendors and learn about how their food is produced, and farm tours at both urban farms in Austin and ones outside of the city.

Our board is all volunteer positions, and I serve as the Scholarship Coordinator. We give scholarships for events and conferences both locally in Austin and Central Texas, and throughout the country, to individuals whose interests align with the Slow Food mission. We give them a conference fee and sometimes a travel stipend so they can attend these amazing learning opportunities.

What’s something surprising about your position someone might learn if they did your job for a day?

There is a lot of reporting and numbers involved. I spend a lot of time in Excel spreadsheets.

What is your favorite part about working at the Food Bank?

Getting to know, and developing a relationship with, the program partners. Especially with HOPE, I got to travel to places I Texas I didn’t know a lot about, and see how much work was going into the programs. A lot of the people who run the programs are volunteering their time, and it’s amazing to see how dedicated they are to their communities, and how passionate they about fighting hunger.