Feeding the needy fulfills a hunger to boost society
The gig: Flood, 46, is chief executive of the nonprofit Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, which last year distributed 39 million pounds of free food to more than 900 charity agency sites in the county.
Immigrant stock: Flood’s parents emigrated from Ireland to Los Angeles in 1959 in search of better economic opportunities. “They had a family friend here who raved about what a great place this was,” Flood said. By the time he was born in San Fernando in 1962, his parents were starting to make a comfortable living. “Los Angeles was growing, both in terms of population and the economy. Those were some of the glory years.”
Upbringing: He spent his youth mostly alternating between Los Angeles and New York suburban life as his father shifted jobs. “We lived in middle-class to affluent areas. I had no personal experience or really any interaction with poverty growing up. It was just an average, very nice upbringing with lots of sports.”
Early charity experiences: “I think we did some volunteer work, visiting children in hospitals. But I don’t want to overplay that -- I could not say we did that frequently. What we did hear around the home was, ‘Think of others, think of that new kid that just moved into the area.’ That was a common theme from my parents, maybe because at one time they were the new ones, coming from another country.”
Jock years: Flood was named an All-American soccer player at the College of William & Mary, where he majored in liberal arts. After college he was drafted by the professional Chicago Sting team, now defunct. “I played for less than a year -- my knee blew out.”
Back to school: He returned to William & Mary to get an MBA. “I thought it would help give me the skills to help figure out what I wanted to do. It was not a great plan.”
Turning point: He was exposed to a kind of enterprise he hardly knew existed. “There were a couple of professors who were very interested in the nonprofit area, and they got us involved in projects for some of them -- analysis and that sort of thing. This was back in the ‘80s, when it wasn’t so common. But I remember thinking, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I was never really all that interested in the business world.”
Food bank career: Flood began working in the field in 1990, spending time at the Redwood Empire Food Bank in Sonoma County and the Contra Costa Food Bank. In 2000 he became CEO of the L.A. operation, which is run out of a 55,000-square-foot facility south of downtown where donated foods are sorted before delivery. It’s unfortunately a booming business. This year, the local food pantries the organization supplies are seeing an increase in demand of more than 30%, especially because many new people are showing up requesting food.
Biggest worry: “Even if the economy picks up, high unemployment rates will be with us for a long time to come. As unemployment benefits end for people and they exhaust their savings, they will have to make decisions that come down to, ‘Do I pay my rent or do I buy food? Do I pay the dentist or buy food?’ People will have to make these payments, so there will be even more of a demand for what we supply.”
Regrets? None. “I think what really attracted me to the nonprofit world -- whether it’s social services, the arts -- is the end result of what these organizations do. They are attempting to improve the common good, improve society, make the world a better place.”
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