Obligation to help

New food bank director looks to continue nonprofit’s legacy of helping

Sophie Albert brings a wealth of experience from around the world as she begins her new role as the executive director of the North Valley Food Bank.

Albert, who is originally from Germany, has held positions with several nonprofits managing education, social services and humanitarian programs in Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan and the U.S. Most recently she served as Director for Refugee Programs at The Alliance in Houston, Texas.

Her role was to assist with refugee resettlement by helping those who arrived in the United States secure employment, food, housing and medical care. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit people lost their jobs and food insecurity became an even greater part of her role.

“The Houston food banks would have these huge [lines],” she said. “We would go around trying to find the smallest [line] at the food pantries so they could access food.”

When Albert’s husband decided to start his own company remotely from Whitefish, Albert was looking for a position that would fit in with the work she’s done throughout her career. Finding North Valley Food Bank and combined that with her experience it seemed to fit.

“It really made me see just how food insecurity is such a large issue,” she said of her experience in Houston. “When COVID hit it became about getting people their immediate needs met. Working here at the food bank, really fits in with my background.”

Albert holds a Master of Disaster Management from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She says her interest in working in disaster management likely came as a result of being born in Germany around the time the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.

“Growing up in the former East Germany with a communist regime, it made me interested in human rights,” she said. “I believe that we have an obligation to help each other.”

At the food bank, Albert takes over from Jessy Lee, who relocated to Missoula to prepare for the birth of her first child, after leading the food bank for two years while doubling the services provided.

Albert says Lee set the food bank on a great path and she’s excited to take over as the food bank begins embarking on a building expansion project and the shift to a choice model pantry that will eventually let clients select their own food from the pantry.

“June Munski-Feenan started the food bank and the community has backed it with so many volunteers,” she said. “They’ve done such a great job in the last year to expand as the need has expanded, and I look forward to working to provide other services and work with other providers.”

A remodel of the building that is planned to break ground this spring including an expansion to store more food, improvements in design for efficiencies and adding a commercial kitchen to facilitate programs such as cooking classes. The remodel will also allow for the shift to a choice model pantry.

“This will allow people to come in just like shopping at a store and choose what they want,” Albert said. “This will help people with certain dietary restrictions and allergies, and cut down on waste. They can get the food that fits their needs.”