How the CEO of Feeding America Gets It Done
Service was the root of Claire Babineaux-Fontenot’s upbringing. Speaking of her childhood, the Feeding America CEO says, “My mother simply could not look past a child in need.” The family’s Opelousas, Louisiana, home housed 16 children at a time (her parents took in 108 kids in total), exposing Babineaux-Fontenot at a young age to what it looks like for people to be hungry. “To become a part of our family meant that something really important wasn’t working in the family you were born to,” she says.
Babineaux-Fontenot found her own way into advocacy after spending years working in government, in accounting, at law firms, and at Walmart. A cancer diagnosis spurred her to find work that gives back. “I’m not promised a lot of time,” she says. “I decided that I would need to leave.” She became the leader of Feeding America, the largest charity in the U.S., according to Forbes, in 2018. “We have the opportunity to touch and be in community with tens of millions of people every year as a network,” she says, “and in my role, I directly engage with people experiencing hunger. I prioritize their priorities.” The mother of two adult children resides in Chicago with her husband, Barry. Here, how she gets it done.
On her morning routine:
I wake up at about 4:30 a.m. I pray and contemplate, and I ask myself about the day before. I try my best to lie still and not move much in this process. I ask myself what brought joy and if I brought any to someone else. I ask that I be positioned to see better that day, to recognize the opportunities that will surely come my way, and to show up as my best self. Then I get up. One of my favorite things early in the morning is a hot cup of citrus-flavored tea with a twist of lime or lemon.
On where her work as CEO takes her:
Advocating on behalf of people experiencing hunger is a big part of my role. I get to lift up their aspirations. I often get a microphone, so I endeavor to use it in a way that serves them as they wish to be served. I travel to D.C. often to meet with key leaders. My recent trip included a media roundtable with a food-banker from Northwest Arkansas who was in town. We talked about the issues that matter the most to people experiencing hunger. After that, I went into a meeting with an advisory group of food-bankers from across the country who specifically work on policy. Then I went to Capitol Hill, where I met with a ranking member of the Senate. We are in the midst of an administration transition. People experiencing hunger are counting on us to know what is necessary and to collaborate to get it done.
On how her upbringing influenced her leadership style:
I would go to school with a certain number of brothers and sisters and return from school that day and have a new brother or sister. All of us were learning about how unique humans are. For some of my new little brothers and sisters, the best thing to do is walk up to them, make them feel that they are home, and hug them. But to hug some of them would hurt them, and I didn’t know that. What I knew was that I felt warm in that home and loved in that home, and I wanted everyone else who joined our family to feel it. So I learned about being sensitive to how unique each of us is, and I apply that to my work. I also learned about seeing people and not looking past them. I witnessed this in my mother, in how she saw us, and I try to do that in my work.
On incorporating exercise into her day:
Since I’ve been working at this job, I’ve traveled 80 percent of the time, so my favorite source of exercise is walking. There are occasions when I’m in Chicago when I will walk to work and back home. Sometimes the weather is not conducive to walking outside. I will walk in museums and take in beautiful art. Airports are a great place for walking. When waiting for a flight, sometimes I pick up the handle on my suitcase and do squats with the handle up.
On being a foodie:
I love food, and I’m professionally in the right space. I especially love ethnic foods. One of the beautiful things about Chicago is that there are over 170 neighborhoods, and each has a different flavor, so you can go out and explore cultures inside of foods. I love the taste of turmeric, cumin, and roux. We even have a place in Chicago on the South Side in Hyde Park called Roux, and I feel so seen. They have beignets. I can’t be on the phone while eating because I won’t savor my food. I have to taste the thoughtfulness that goes into the preparation.
On what she’s reading right now:
I read for stimulation, not relaxation. I’m reading Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells, by the author Michelle Duster. You know it’s going to be good when the very first chapter is called “Dangerous Negro Agitator.” Michelle has done more than one work about Ida B. Wells. Here in the city, there’s a street named after her. You see her face and her pompadour hairstyle in different places. I thought, I feel like I’m missing out. So I’m trying to get to know her better, and everything I learn inspires me.
On what stresses her out about her job:
When the moment calls for unity, people seem bent on being divided. I’m confounded by it. Feeding America has its aspiration that people and communities across the country have the resources that they need to thrive. Everybody wins when that happens. I’m sometimes frustrated by what can feel like recalcitrant division.
On her favorite way to unwind:
I love having a bath to calm me down. I like to start with a bath salt. I’ll typically use lavender, depending upon what kind of day I think it’s going to be or what kind of day it’s been. There will be candles of the same scent. I have these little bamboo trays that go across the bathtub, and that’s where I’ve got my little candle, soap, and lotions. I want everything to smell consistent. I have a candle-warmer plug-in with a light on it, so turn off the other lights and plug that in. It gives a little bit of light and adds to the scent of the room.
On the people who help her get it done:
My mother. My mentors. Tom Mars got me on the right road when it came to me trying to remake my leadership, because they weren’t doing things the way I wanted. He gave me some great advice: “Rather than trying to remake them, why don’t you understand what matters to them and figure out if both of you can win at the same time?” My board chair right now, Shawn O’Grady, is a visionary strategist deeply committed to this work. Our national office and our food-bank partners, including pantries. I’m most inspired by people experiencing hunger, by how people “make a way outta no way,” to quote my grandma.