Eric Aft Named CEO Of Second Harvest Food Bank

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina has a new leader.

Eric Aft replaces Clyde Fitzgerald, who retired this year after serving as executive director for the past decade.

Aft has been with Second Harvest for almost a year as the chief operating officer. But he's already been a well-known face in the nonprofit community, having previously worked as an executive with the United Way of Forsyth County. He also worked as director of development for Wake Forest University.

Second Harvest provides food and services across 18 counties in northwest North Carolina, moving an estimated 37 tons of food through its warehouses each day. It works with more than 450 partner organizations to make its distributions.

As Chief Executive Officer, Aft says he wants to strengthen and expand the organization's programs, including its culinary job training.

“Making sure that people can access healthy food when they need it is central to our work and vital to the well-being of our communities,” Aft says. “It is also true that families want and deserve more. We will continue to build awareness and engage more people around the issues of hunger and poverty.”

Aft started his new position July 1.