The leader of central and eastern Ohio’s largest hunger relief organization is stepping down after 42 years of service, prompting a national search for his replacement.
Mid-Ohio Food Collective President and CEO Matt Habash announced his plans to retire April 30 after decades at the helm of the state’s largest food bank. The collective’s board of trustees will oversee the leadership transition and conduct a “comprehensive national search” for Habash’s successor, according to a press release from the collective.
“It has been the honor of my life to lead alongside the extraordinary team at Mid-Ohio Food Collective and serve our Ohio neighbors for over four decades,” Habash said in the release. “As I embark on retirement, I do so with the utmost confidence in MOFC’s One Team to shepherd the next exciting chapter. I’m certain that we will continue advancing our mission of ending hunger one nourishing meal at a time while co-creating communities where everyone thrives.
The collective’s board of trustees has hired Kittleman & Associates, LLC, a national search firm with expertise in nonprofit CEO recruitment, to lead the search for Habash’s replacement. Habash will continue to lead the organization through the search and transition process.
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective feeds over 500,000 food insecure Ohioans every year and has established a national reputation for “innovative, customer-focused solutions that improve access to healthy food and address the root causes of hunger,” the release states.
Habash became executive director of the collective, then called the “Mid-Ohio Foodbank,” in 1984. That year, the organization distributed 3 million pounds of grocery products.
In 2025, the collective distributed over 73 million pounds through more than 600 partner agencies in 20 counties across the region.
“The people of Ohio have been the fortunate recipients of Matt Habash’s selfless service for the past 42 years,” board Chair Eric Joyner said in the release. “His legacy will be felt for decades to come, both in the strength of Mid-Ohio Food Collective and in the endurance of its community partnerships. We are equally grateful to Matt for his commitment and confident in our ability to create a seamless transition to a new leader who will carry forward the Food Collective’s mission and values.”
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mid-Ohio Food Collective CEO, president to step down after 42 years
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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