Kim Lawkis, a longtime food banker and disaster-response leader, has been named chief executive officer of Feeding Alabama, the statewide association of Alabama’s eight-member food banks.
Lawkis previously served as chief operating officer. She succeeds Laura Lester in the CEO role.
Lawkis began her career at Feeding the Gulf Coast, where she oversaw extensive operational and programmatic work as director of child nutrition. She also has experience in disaster response and years of work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on programs and grants.
“Kim knows every part of this network, from the warehouse floor to the state capitol, and that is exactly the leadership Alabama’s food banks need right now,” said Nicole Williams, chair of the Feeding Alabama board and CEO of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. “She has built strong relationships with our member food banks, state agencies and federal partners, and she has a clear vision for making this network stronger and more resilient.”
As COO, Lawkis coordinated Feeding Alabama’s programs with state agencies and since 2020 has helped secure $32 million in state and federal grants for Alabama’s food banks. She also helped bring summer EBT to more than 500,000 children and partnered with the state on a local food purchasing program that paid 87 Alabama farmers to supply the food banks with 5.5 million pounds of produce to all 67 counties serviced by the Feeding Alabama network.