Clyde Fitzgerald, the former executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, has died.
Fitzgerald was already a well-known corporate executive and civic volunteer when he took the reins of the region's largest food bank just over a decade ago. During his tenure he saw a growing need for a community response to hunger.
Fitzgerald told WFDD in 2016 that during the first years of the recession, the agency was serving about 135,000 people a year. That number is now more than 300,000. Fitzgerald knew hunger was a problem that needed to be highlighted.
“The Greater Triad area is known as being urban and prosperous, and when I speak, a lot to folks in this area they all say ‘Well, gee, Clyde, I understand what you're talking about with this problem of hunger, and I'm sure glad we don't have it here.' ”
In fact, the state is considered one of the worst for hunger in the country. One in seven North Carolina adults struggle with hunger, and it's even worse for children, according to a report from Feeding America.
Fitzgerald had just stepped down as executive director this summer. He is being remembered by his peers as a passionate advocate for those in need.