Annually, March is designated as Women’s History Month by presidential proclamation. The month celebrates all women’s contributions in American history and honors the generations of trailblazing women, girls, and non-binary persons who have built, shaped, and strengthened our communities.

Every day, women help make our organization and communities a better place with their leadership, strength, and resilience. The San Antonio Food Bank is proud to serve alongside our women hunger fighters and serve our women neighbors.

We want to highlight inspiring women who have helped shape the Food Bank by being pillars of healing and hope for their families and our community. In doing so, we are honored to share their journeys and stories with you.

Explore the journey of Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America’s Chief Executive Officer:

How did you get your start at Feeding America?

Although I didn’t know it at the time, my experiences, from my upbringing, the things that I learned at law school and during my time as an executive at Walmart, were shaping and preparing me to be the CEO of Feeding America. I’d built a career in law and corporate finance and I knew my next move was going to be to an organization where I could make an impact that was important to me personally. Through the Walmart Foundation, I got to know Feeding America as an effective, mission-driven organization and when I learned they were looking for a CEO, I knew without a doubt that, for me, it was the right opportunity at the right time.

What motivates you to be a non-profit leader?

I know that the word ‘privilege’ is reserved to represent wealth, but though my family was certainly not wealthy, I know that I’ve always been remarkably privileged simply to have my mother and father as parents. Over the course of their lives, they raised 108 children who came into my family through biology, foster care and adoption. My parents’ generosity and the sacrifices they made to raise me and my many siblings taught me to be grateful for what I had, to work hard, and to serve my community to the best of my ability.

Through Feeding America, I am well-positioned to serve communities across the country every day. Only a social service organization can offer that opportunity!

What does 'serving your community' mean to you?

‘Service’ is a word that I think of often. I’ve noticed throughout the course of my life that sometimes the best way to serve is to listen. Other times, ‘service’ means using my platform to increase the likelihood that the impacts that are important to me will happen. But conventional definitions of ‘service’ can also perpetuate paternalism, in which the person being served is positioned differently than the person providing the service.

It is in an evolving definition of ‘service to a community’ that I’ve learned to embrace a very different definition of what ‘service’ can mean. This new definition means coming together with others in co-equal partnership, but where the community has the agency to articulate its vision for itself, and where I am poised to explore, alongside members of that community, the best role for me to play.

Who are some of your favorite women or non-binary trailblazers and/or mentors?

Mary Alice Cluse Babineaux, who will not be found in many Google searches, nor will her name likely grace a building. She was my mother, and she taught me, through her example, every important lesson I needed to learn about leadership, and service, and impact, and authenticity, and the power of being a woman in executing on all of those.

I also admire Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender woman of color who served as an outspoken advocate for equal rights for all and was a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising in 1969.

And not least, Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady of the United States from 1933-1945, who used the power of her platform to elevate women’s voices and to advocate for justice in all forms. She was notable for me because she was a learned person who earned around $75,000 by writing and giving lectures and invested all of that money in the people whose voices she was elevating. That investment today would be worth $1,636,823.08 for the causes she cared about.

How is “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope” important to you?

I celebrate the critical roles that women have filled throughout history. Women have long-been counted on to provide care for our families and our communities –as mothers, teachers, nurses, midwives and countless other professions that support the health and wellness of society. And it’s not surprising. According to the UN, women make up 70% of the front-line workforce in the global health and social sector. I am proud and grateful for all that we have contributed in the immediate response to the pandemic, and I feel a profound optimism about the impact we can have on our path forward.

What is your best advice for girls or non-binary future leaders?

Support one another. Build each other up, share opportunities for growth, and seek out opportunities to promote yourselves and others around you. Just as your way was paved by the leaders who came before you, when you are older and have achieved your goals, commit to seeking out the promising women, girls and non-binary leaders in the next generation and mentor them and support them on their leadership journeys.

What you can’t tell from this article, is that I am a very tall person, nearly 6 feet tall. I often think of my height as being symbolic of standing on the shoulders of the generation who came before mine. And what gives me so much hope for the future is that this generation will get to stand on our shoulders, and the next generation will get to stand on theirs.

Explore more journeys and learn more about how the San Antonio Food Bank is honoring Women’s History Month at safoodbank.org/womens-history-month.