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Swarner caps 15 years with Kenai Peninsula Food Bank

Shaylon Cochran/KDLL

 

After 15 years and millions of meals for residents, Linda Swarner is retiring from the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank. But retirement may be too strong a word when you’re talking about serving the public.

 

 

The food bank on K-Beach road near the college is full of people sharing a meal most days, but Thursday night was something different. The Fireweed Diner was packed with well-wishers and supporters. The food bank’s board member emeritus and its first Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Fisher, remembered Linda Swarner joining the team capped off a turbulent era for the food bank. Two executive directors had come and gone in less than a year.

“You know, it went from crisis to crisis to crisis. She came aboard and it all smoothed out," Fisher said.

Much of that can likely be credited to a career of public service. Before running the food bank, Swarner served on the Kenai city council for two decades. And she remembers those early days, too, when it was real touch and go. At first, just making payroll for the staff was a question.

“That was a big shock. I asked if there was money in the bank account and they said yes. Well, I neglected to ask how much. And so, yes, we did go from crisis to crisis and I asked businesses for donations, to sponsor the soup supper and auction," Swarner said.

Organizing annual events like that or the upcoming Clash of the Culinary Kings are the flashier things that have happened under Swarner’s leadership, but at the end of the day, the food bank’s mission is to make sure no one goes hungry.

 

Like in any job, over the years, there are ups and downs. She says it’s never easy to see people who, for whatever reason, can’t clear that last hurdle or two to become totally independent. But everytime someone thinks of those who are food insecure and holds a food drive or makes a donation, that’s a win.

“We’ve seen individuals do it for birthdays or for anniversaries. In fact, tonight my niece brought boxes of cereal in place of a card, so I’ve gotten to one person, one day. That’s a victory.”

And even though Friday was her last official day, unofficially, everyone is considering this to be more of a transition. Swarner will still advocate for food security, in part, because she’s seen it in her own family. She says it takes being that close sometimes to realize people are going without.

“We as individuals are very proud. My grandparents were on food stamps. I remember going to the grocery store with my grandmother when I was in college and how she couldn’t get toilet paper with her food stamps. She may have had a fur coat in her closet, it was old, but it can happen to anyone. We’re all a paycheck away. And I would like people to know that there is lots of food insecurity in our neighborhoods.”

And thanks to the work of the food bank under Swarner’s leadership, not only do more people know that, they also know how to help.