Meet Natalie

The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is thrilled to welcome Natalie Jayroe as our new Chief Executive Officer. Natalie brings over three decades of transformative leadership in the fight against food insecurity, with a strong track record of innovation, collaboration, and impact. She is a proven leader and team-builder, deeply committed to strengthening communities and advancing sustainable, locally-led solutions that build resilience and improve lives.

First off, welcome to Tucson. What are your first impressions of Southern Arizona?

Southern Arizona is stunningly beautiful, it has its own unique cultural identity, and the people of the community seem to care deeply about each other. The wide-open sky always lifts my spirits.

You have a vast amount of experience in the food banking industry. How will that experience help you with your transition here?

The first thing to know about food banking is that at its best it is entrepreneurial. It changes as the circumstances change, and that certainly fits our environment currently. Food banks should always listen to the community and be prepared to flex to meet their needs. It also helps to know people in our Feeding America network to brainstorm solutions with, as well as supporters and policy makers that support food banks across the country. Given the other changes being made to government programs, food banks have to be prepared to take care of more people needing help.

What are some of the biggest challenges you feel food banking is facing today?

Food banks have been proud of their nonpartisan position and across the spectrum support. However, we are in an unprecedented position with our government partners. When the administration stopped all discretionary funding at USDA, food banks immediately lost half of the USDA food that made up a third of their total distribution and farmers left crops to rot in the fields. The incredible program helping local disadvantaged farmers, as well as the SNAP nutrition education program, was also ended.

Do you feel these challenges are fixable?

The most innovative food banks are thinking through how to best serve in this new reality. It will take all our stake holders – the public sector, the for-profit supporters, and individuals and foundations who volunteer and donate to come together but I have absolute trust that we will find solutions, and I look forward to engaging in the work again. Food banks are at their essence organizations dedicated to helping people and communities thrive, and there will always be ways to accomplish our mission, as long as we have the support of the community!

What are some of your proudest accomplishments in your time fighting food insecurity?

There are so many things – helping to found Kid’s Café, helping network governance evolve, making a difference on policy decisions at the federal, state, and local level, helping a community completely rebuild its infrastructure after devastating natural disasters. But primarily, every time we impact a person’s life positively by something we do is what I am proudest of.

As a leader, what principles and values guide you?

I believe in the potential of every person, and that as a leader the best thing I can do is position the people we serve, and the team I serve with, to be the best they can be. As human beings, we should never be finished learning, changing, and hopefully becoming more impactful in our work.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I am a very, very proud grandmother of three granddaughters and spending time with them is the best. My husband and I like to travel and scuba dive. And I grew up loving to read.

If there were to be a movie made about your life, what actor would you like to play you?

Oh, this is difficult to answer. Natalie Wood was the inspiration for my name, so I will choose her.

What do you hope to accomplish at CFB?

I hope to provide the best environment for the food bank to thrive and serve the community. CFB has always been a food bank that I have admired. Its vision inspired me 20 years ago when I was looking for ways to transform the food bank in Southern Louisiana. I would love to continue to build on the organization’s legacy of being at the forefront of work that makes a difference in peoples’ lives.

Most recently serving as President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana from 2006 to 2025, Natalie Jayroe dramatically expanded the organization’s reach and effectiveness. Under her leadership, the food bank grew from distributing 12 million to more than 50 million meals annually—with a peak of 65 million during the COVID-19 pandemic—serving over 300,000 people each year with more than $100 million in goods and services across South Louisiana.

Natalie led efforts that increased operating revenue and grew the organization’s endowment tenfold, securing long-term sustainability and diversifying funding streams. She raised over $50 million to expand infrastructure across 23 parishes, developing warehouses, community kitchens, mobile grocery stores, and Louisiana’s first nonprofit grocery store.

Her extensive experience spans strategic planning, public-private partnerships, innovative program design and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, and financial oversight. She has successfully implemented numerous initiatives including SNAP outreach, Meals on Wheels, nutrition education, hospital-based pantries, and programs supporting local farmers—always with a focus on measurable outcomes and community empowerment.

Natalie’s leadership has been instrumental in disaster response efforts alongside Feeding America and local, state, and federal partners, reinforcing her ability to lead through both challenge and change.

We are honored to have Natalie at the helm as we enter this next chapter. Her vision, energy, and deep dedication to equity and community well-being make her the ideal leader to guide our mission forward.

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