Feisty, determined, and generous are the three words that come to mind for Larry Rogers when he thinks of CFBNJ and its founder, Kathleen DiChiara. These qualities perfectly encapsulate his first encounter with the FoodBank more than 15 years ago.
“When I got to work at Appaloosa Management with David Tepper, one of the things he asked me to do in 2008 was go around and find out who was doing a good job of feeding people in New Jersey,” Larry recalled. “He realized, with the recession and the Madoff scandal both going on, that there was going to be a large demand going forward.”
Tepper, the founder of Appaloosa Management and its charitable arm, The Tepper Foundation, wanted to help organizations like CFBNJ during a time of great need. The Tepper Foundation had already been supporting the FoodBank annually, so Larry decided to begin his exploration there by meeting with Kathleen.
He recounted part of the conversation: “I remember that Dave said to her, ‘You don’t know what’s coming.’ And Kathleen said, ‘I certainly do know what’s coming. That’s why I’ve taken steps to make changes to lower costs going forward. I know what’s going to happen. There’s a recession coming, and people are going to be really coming to me for food.’”
Then, she explained all the cost-cutting measures the FoodBank had put into place to prepare for a spike in need. Tepper was so impressed that he decided to increase the foundation’s yearly gift to CFBNJ from $100,000 to $500,000 – above and beyond the $200,000 that Kathleen and her team were hoping for.
At the end of the meeting, Larry asked Kathleen to tell him who else in New Jersey was doing good work providing food for people in need, and he was surprised when, instead of just suggesting that the foundation give even more money to the FoodBank, she wrote out an entire list of organizations for him.
“That was the most altruistic thing I’d ever seen,” Larry remarked.
After that, The Tepper Foundation donated more than $2.5 million to various food assistance organizations across the state that year alone. Over the years, with Larry as its Treasurer, it has made significant contributions to a CFBNJ capital campaign, fleet expansion, and more. Today, the foundation is one of the largest supporters of the FoodBank’s mission.
For Larry, it all goes back to that very first meeting with Kathleen.
“It’s funny. Outside of my family, there are few people who I love, but I love Kathleen DiChiara,” he said, “because she heartily believed in what she was doing, and she fought for every scrap to make sure it got done.”
In the next 50 years, Larry hopes that CFBNJ will continue Kathleen’s legacy with an improved facility and more efficient logistics.
“I love the work the FoodBank does,” Larry shared. “It made me aware that there are people who care about fixing the problem of food insecurity.”