Julianne White (MBA 2017) is vice president for food acquisition at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

How did you become interested in the food industry?

“I grew up with a lot of ties to agriculture. I was raised in a small community where much of the local economy is agriculture-based and my dad owned a timber farm. Many of my family members also worked in industries tied to food and agriculture. This background led me to study food and resource economics as an undergraduate, a field of study with a very high likelihood of landing somewhere in the agricultural sector.

“After graduation, my first job was in grocery retail and I knew the food space was where I wanted to be long-term. Food forms such a foundational part of life and I immediately found it meaningful to be part of the industry providing for people’s basic needs.”

What drew you to The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB)?

“In late 2018, I left my corporate job and decided to explore opportunities with a social impact-driven food organization, particularly one focused on food access and hunger relief. What made the Greater Boston Food Bank stand out among the options I considered was its scale and vision. GBFB is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and among the largest food banks in the country. I had an opportunity to speak with Catherine D’Amato, GBFB’s CEO, and I was incredibly impressed with the organization’s vision for the future. It was clear GBFB was thinking strategically about the future and innovative ways to address hunger relief from multiple angles. That conversation left me excited about the prospect of being part of GBFB’s current and future work in serving Eastern Massachusetts communities and addressing food access.”

What have been the most enjoyable and the most challenging parts of your work?

“Working for a hunger-relief organization during a pandemic has been tremendously challenging. We’ve had to respond quickly to meet the rapidly increasing need in our communities, which seemed to double overnight. We have focused on learning as quickly as possible, testing new ideas, and really evaluating every area of the operation to find efficiencies and ways to get more food to the communities we serve.

“Knowing that our work could determine whether someone got a meal or not the next day certainly kept me up at night. At the same time, it’s been really gratifying to work alongside such passionate colleagues and partners. It’s been humbling to see how the entire emergency food network and our supporters have all stepped up to meet the need in the face of really daunting statistics.

What’s a typical day like for you at the GBFB?

“There really is no typical day and I enjoy that Some days I work with our CFO on food-spend projections, or help our COO build a multi-year strategic planning framework. Other days, I work with my team to coordinate food donations or manage inventory turns. Even though we are a large food bank, we are still a very lean organization, which means my team is involved in a wide variety of tasks, ranging from purchasing, engaging with food donors, delivery scheduling, product inspection, and assortment optimization.”

How do you use what you learned at HBS in your work?

“There are many business principles I learned at HBS that have made me a better businessperson and leader, but I think what was most impactful from my time at HBS was the case method itself. After two years of cold-calls, cases, and classroom discussion, I feel much more confident taking a position and voicing my opinion. It also taught me that it’s OK to change your mind if a colleague has a very compelling argument. On occasion, I would come to class with a strong viewpoint, only to be convinced otherwise by a wise counterargument from a classmate. HBS helped me become a leader who values diverse perspectives and is open to looking at things a different way.”

What are your short- and long-term goals at GBFB?

“My short-term goal is simple: keep the food coming. The Food Acquisition team is responsible for all food sourcing activity (including food purchasing and managing donations) for the Greater Boston Food Bank and even helps with procurement for other state food banks. The combination of a sharp rise in food insecurity and the pandemic’s disruption of the food supply chain meant that there was a period of time where we struggled to bring in enough food to meet the needs of our network. While we’re in a much better place today, the supply chain isn’t completely back to normal and our main focus is to ensure our food supply and inventory levels remain stable.

“Longer-term, my goal is to better leverage data and technology to improve our operational efficiency. I think there are areas where better tools could help improve our resiliency to shocks in the system like the one we saw earlier this year.”

How has the pandemic impacted the people you serve and how are you and the organization helping address these challenges?

“We are serving more people than ever before, which indicates just how many individuals have been impacted and are struggling with hunger due to the pandemic. The unprecedented unemployment brought on by the pandemic has forced many people to turn to the emergency food system for support.

“Based on our partner agency reporting, over 600,000 people per month have received help from a food pantry in Eastern Massachusetts since July 2020, which is more than twice as many people served as last year at the same time. In response, we have drastically increased our distribution to levels we never thought possible. This summer GBFB distributed over 80 percent more food to our neighbors in need in Eastern Massachusetts. We closed our fiscal year in September having distributed nearly 99 million pounds of food.

“For my team, specifically, this has meant significantly expanding our purchasing efforts. When the pandemic hit, we began spending an additional $2-3 million on food per month and plan to spend over 130 percent more on food purchases in the coming months than during the same time last year.”

Has the pandemic impacted how you view your work and/or yourself?

“The pandemic has led me to approach work with a greater sense of gratitude. I’ve been so humbled by my colleagues at GBFB and our network partners who have and continue to work so tirelessly to help our neighbors who need the emergency food system more than ever. I have tremendous appreciation for our broader Massachusetts community that has extended their care and support, from individuals who have sewn masks for our warehouse workers to companies that have made financial or food donations despite their own pandemic struggles. It’s been really humbling and powerful to see people come together to support our communities, and I feel many of us bring that strong sense of appreciation to work on a daily basis.”

What was your favorite HBS case and why?

“One case that stands out is the case on Daily Table from my second-year retailing class. I was already exploring mission-driven food organizations at that point and had the opportunity to work with Daily Table during my first year at HBS. Daily Table is a nonprofit grocery store concept that is working to address food access and food insecurity by offering highly affordable and highly nutritious food in a dignified environment.

“Hearing a classroom of my peers talking about food insecurity in the context of the case was really powerful, since it’s an issue I’m so passionate about. We talk about so many different topics at HBS, but this was the first time solving food insecurity was at the heart of a discussion.

“There’s also something unique about having a case discussion surrounding a company you’re familiar with. Despite your familiarity with the organization or topic, people are going to raise interesting thoughts or perspectives that you’d never thought of. It was a very memorable day, for sure.”

Which professor (or professors) had the greatest impact on you and why?

“There are so many incredible professors at HBS, but I would have to say that Jose Alvarez had the greatest impact on me and my career. Jose has an extensive background in the food industry and I found him to be the professor that most understood and appreciated my career aspirations. When I would share my background and interests, I found some professors were unsure of how to give me advice, but Jose totally understood.

“I remember my first visit to see him, when I shared my desire to work in the food industry in a way that was working to drive social good—he started immediately pulling cases off his bookshelf for me to read and telling me about interesting organizations he’s worked with that had a social enterprise angle to their business model. I knew I’d met the right person to help me navigate my career questions. When I was exploring career options in early 2019, he was kind enough to help me think through my job search approach and help me make connections. It’s thanks to him that I was able to have a conversation with GBFB. That conversation led to an internship, which led to a full-time role. I remain grateful to him for his willingness to engage with current and former students in their career journeys.”

What did you like to do when you weren’t studying?

“I really enjoyed getting together with small groups of classmates over dinner. It was such a unique opportunity to meet so many interesting, wonderful people from different backgrounds and geographies. That’s one of the things I miss most about HBS: all the interesting conversations. I also met my husband at HBS, so we spent a good deal of our free time together. Our favorite spot to hang out on campus was in front of the fireplaces in Spangler.”

What advice do you have for HBS students interested in working in the food industry?

“I would recommend being intentional about exploring which parts of the food industry interest you, because there are many different facets. What functional areas would be a good fit for you? What part of the food supply chain? If you aren’t sure, your time at HBS is a great time to explore options and ask questions.

“I also found conversations with alumni and student peers to be helpful in my personal search, as I could understand what people appreciated about different sectors, organizations, or roles. These conversations were also very important for my internship and post-graduation job search. I found that I had to be more proactive in identifying recruiting opportunities, as not many food organizations directly recruit on campus. However, there are plenty of resources available to help make connections. One of my HBS internship options was the result of a sectionmate connecting me with his former employer, for example, though they did not explicitly recruit from HBS. Peers, professors, and the alumni network are incredible assets in the career exploration process.”

Can you finish this statement? “My HBS experience was…”

“…life-changing. I know that may sound dramatic, but I do sometimes think about how different my life would be had I not gone to HBS. I’ve found a career I’m passionate about thanks to the exploration and connections I made during my two years there, which was one of my main goals. I also met amazing mentors, made lifelong friendships, found my spouse, and gained many new perspectives about how people look at the world and life. HBS gave me far more than a business degree, and for that I’m forever grateful.”

To learn more about the Greater Boston Food Bank, go to https://www.gbfb.org/.

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