Harvest Hope Food Bank CEO Wendy Broderick dies
The leader of a food bank that provided more than 26 million meals to people in need across South Carolina in the last year has died.
According to an online message on the organization’s website from its board chairman, Harvest Hope Food Bank CEO Wendy Broderick died on Monday. Long a worker in the Midlands nonprofit world, she had been CEO of Harvest Hope since May 2019. She was 46.
Harvest hope board chairman John Welsh said in the release that “for some time now” Broderick had been quietly battling “a significant health challenge.”
“Due to her excitement to lead Harvest Hope Food Bank into the future, Wendy kept her diagnosis private in order to focus on the mission of the organization,” Welsh wrote.
Harvest Hope, which works prominently in addressing food needs for the less fortunate in Columbia, serves 20 counties across the Midlands, Upstate and Pee Dee. The organization was founded in 1981.
Residents have especially sought the food bank’s services in the last year, as the global pandemic has wreaked physical and fiscal havoc across South Carolina and the nation. A November story in The State detailed hours-long waits for food in Columbia, which heightened as the holiday season approached.
According to information provided by Harvest Hope, before taking her role as the food bank leader, Broderick worked a stint as the chief development officer of the YMCA of Columbia, where she grew its annual fundraising campaign from $35,000 to $383,000, and founded its planned giving society, the YMCA of Columbia Heritage Club.
A Blythewood resident, Broderick served stints as chairwoman of the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce and president of the Rotary Club of Blythewood, and as a board member with Historic Columbia.
“Wendy’s dedication to Harvest Hope Food Bank and the people we serve has been remarkable, especially as the communities’ needs heightened during COVID-19,” Welsh said in the release. “During her time as CEO, Wendy transformed the organization, serving countless individuals during trying times and leaving a strong foundation for the work to continue.”
Broderick is survived by her husband, Cam, and four children. The food bank has set up a memorial fund in her memory.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
