Our Story

Our founder’s first call to action came after Hurricane Sandy hit over 900-miles of northeastern U.S. coast in 2012 and the Mayor of Boston commissioned a study because “Hurricane Sandy was a big wake-up call…It was the unthinkable event, a near miss on our food supply.” At that time, Kim Zeuli was at the non-profit ICIC in Boston, which graciously supported our early work. 

The Feeding Cities Group was established in 2019 to fill a vital gap in disaster preparedness efforts caused by three converging forces: natural disasters were increasing in frequency and severity, chronic food insecurity was expanding, and most food stores were relying on just-in-time deliveries.

As a result of these forces, food systems are taking months and even years to fully recover after natural disasters and more people need emergency food—and for longer periods—than existing emergency plans estimate. The capacity of all organizations—at all levels—to adequately respond is being stretched to a breaking point. As more organizations mobilize for support, coordination challenges mount.

Preparedness at the local level to feed people after disasters is simply not where it needs to be. Cities do have plans for providing emergency food to people displaced during disasters, but they often start—and end—with a call for assistance from disaster relief organizations that may not have the capacity to respond to the scope of today’s disasters.