As president of Second Helpings Atlanta, Sheri Silverman Labovitz K’73 is helping to reduce both hunger and food waste. Through the collection and distribution of excess food from a network of over 80 grocery stores, corporate kitchens, universities, hospitals, stadiums, and other large event venues, her organization serves more than 50 agencies that feed the hungry. SHA’s “90-minute model” uses a unique approach — the organization’s 500 volunteers typically complete their pick-up and drop-off routes in just 90 efficient minutes, collectively operating some 180 routes each week.
Labovitz, a retired attorney, hopes to lead SHA as it breaks records. In 2017, the organization rescued over 1.5 million pounds (or 1.3 million meals) and planned to significantly exceed that number in 2018.
Labovitz’s social awareness and community involvement stem from her time at Kirkland, where she pursued an interdisciplinary urban-government major. She says her work with SHA allows her to tackle issues of poverty and hunger she first witnessed while working on a Utica, N.Y., urban poverty project for a photography class. Labovitz describes her career journey and the opportunity to tackle issues she studied on College Hill as coming “full circle.”
