Food bank chief to address NW grads

David M. Davenport, chief executive officer of Second Harvest Community Food Bank, will speak at Northwest Missouri State University Thursday, Aug. 2, during summer graduation exercises.

"We are so pleased to have David joining us for our summer commencement ceremonies," said Northwest President John Jasinski. "The work he and Second Harvest do is so important to our region. Community service and international competence are among our values at Northwest as we prepare students to be model citizens in their communities after they graduate."

A native of Baltimore, Md., who graduated from Texas A&M University, Davenport has led Second Harvest since March 2011. Since his arrival, the food bank has expanded its distribution programs, which currently serve more than 13,000 people a week across a 19-county area, many of them children and seniors.

Earlier this year, Second Harvest launched its innovative “Close the Gap” program, which has been used as a model by other nutrition assistance programs across the Midwest. This fall, the agency  will open Fresh Start, a nonprofit grocery store concept that combines food for purchase with traditional emergency nutritional services.

Prior to joining Second Harvest, Davenport spent 11 years with the YMCA, serving in Texas as well Japan, Mexico and Brazil. He began his hunger-relief work in 2004 when he became executive director of the End Hunger Network in Houston

Davenport subsequently led the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin, Texas, expanding the agency's budget from $26 million to more than $50 million and nearly doubling its distribution volume.

Professional honors include Davenport's being named a Certified Fund Raising Executive after securing more than $120 million in charitable contributions during his career and meeting the requirements related to ethical management and donor stewardship.

He also serves on the board of directors for the Missouri Food Bank Association and the Former Students’ Advisory Board for the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M.

A bi-lateral lung transplant survivor, Davenport is a noted advocate for organ donation.

More than 250 students from Northwest's three colleges and graduate school are to receive degrees next month at the conclusion of the school's summer trimester. Video of the ceremony will be streamed lived at www.nwmissouri.edu/live.

Families can submit mobile phone photographs taken during the day to nw12@nwmissouri.edu. The images will appear immediately on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/nwmostate.

More information about Northwest's summer commencement is available at www.nwmissouri.edu/commencement.