Author: Sean Fitzpatrick, Executive Director
Real Food CT is entering the most consequential growth phase in our history, and we are expanding the leadership at the top of the organization to meet it.
We are actively seeking experienced executives and seasoned board professionals to join the Real Food CT Board of Directors. This is a recruitment focused specifically on senior leadership: individuals who have built, governed, or financed complex organizations, and who are ready to help shape a Connecticut nonprofit moving from strong programs into durable infrastructure.
Where We Are
Real Food CT is a Connecticut-based nonprofit strengthening regional food systems by connecting farms to food access partners, reducing on-farm waste, and expanding access to fresh, locally grown food for communities facing food insecurity.
In our seventh operational season, we have grown from a small, volunteer-driven effort into a regional organization working with dozens of farms and more than thirty food access partners. In 2025 alone, the organization tripled its food distribution volume. The trajectory has continued into 2026, and the work has become substantially more ambitious in scope.
Three current initiatives illustrate where the organization is heading:
The Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) award from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, which provides $150,000 for direct purchasing from Connecticut farms and the design of a regional food sovereignty model.
The expansion into institutional surplus recovery, including a recent 15,000+ pound celery distribution executed in partnership with Boston Area Gleaners, with active conversations underway with Food Rescue US and other national and regional food rescue partners and warehouse distributors.
The Naugatuck Valley Food System Infrastructure Project, our flagship development, currently in concept planning and being prepared for a Community Investment Fund 2030 (CIF) application. This project is intended to give Connecticut a regional farm and food hub with the cold storage, aggregation, and refrigerated transport capacity the state’s food system has been missing.
Real Food CT has demonstrated that its operating model works. The work ahead is about scaling that model responsibly and building systems that can serve communities for generations.
The Opportunity
This is an active governance role for individuals who bring real experience with complex growth, large projects, and financial stewardship. We are recruiting to strengthen the board’s capacity to govern an organization moving into infrastructure-level work, capital planning, and multi-year operational expansion.
This is not a passive board seat. It is leadership during a period of genuine consequence for Connecticut’s food system.
Who We Are Seeking
We are particularly interested in individuals with senior experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Executive leadership or C-suite roles in complex organizations, public or private
- Prior board service with growing nonprofits, social enterprises, or public-private initiatives
- Capital planning, financial strategy, or oversight of large or multi-year budgets
- Large-scale project development, real estate, or infrastructure delivery
- Philanthropy, impact investing, or major-gift fundraising
- Governance, audit, risk management, and long-term organizational accountability
- Food systems, agriculture, public health, or regional economic development
Strong candidates will be comfortable engaging at a strategic level and will understand what it takes to move an organization from strong programming to durable institutional capacity.
Board Responsibilities
Board members of Real Food CT are expected to:
- Provide fiduciary oversight and governance
- Support long-term strategic planning and organizational growth
- Serve on committees aligned with expertise and organizational needs
- Contribute to financial sustainability through fundraising, partnerships, or strategic guidance
- Act as ambassadors for Real Food CT within professional and community networks
- Engage actively in capital strategy decisions as the Naugatuck Valley project advances
This role calls for meaningful engagement and is best suited for individuals ready to contribute time, insight, and leadership during a critical growth period.
Why This Moment Matters
Connecticut’s food system is at an inflection point. Persistent food insecurity, rising production costs for farmers, and fragmented infrastructure require solutions that are coordinated, financially viable, and built to last.
The next 24 months at Real Food CT will include the development of a regional food hub, the launch of a state-funded sovereignty purchasing model, and the expansion of institutional surplus recovery in collaboration with national partners. These are not incremental program steps. They are decisions about how the organization is going to operate at scale, how capital is going to be raised and deployed, and how Connecticut is going to position itself within the broader regional food economy.
Board leadership at this stage will directly shape how that future is built.
Learn More or Express Interest
If this kind of board service resonates with where you are in your career, we welcome a conversation. We are also grateful for referrals to qualified candidates who share a commitment to strengthening Connecticut’s food system.
To learn more or express interest, contact Executive Director Sean Fitzpatrick at sean@realfoodct.org.
Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you.
