Maine Food Bank Addresses Systemic Inequalities through Investment Partnership

Good Shepherd Food Bank is proud to announce a partnership with Zevin Asset Management, a boutique investment manager specializing in socially responsible investing and investor advocacy, located in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Good Shepherd Food Bank is aware that we can’t end hunger without addressing systemic inequities that continue to harm historically oppressed communities,” stated Bryan O’Connor, vice president of finance and administration at the Food Bank. “In light of this, we’ve chosen to prioritize partnerships with and investments in companies that commit to disrupting those systems. In recent months, a committee comprised of staff and board members conducted a thorough search for a firm ideally positioned to manage our investments with this vision in mind. Zevin Asset Management was a natural choice for our Food Bank.”

Zevin will help the Food Bank manage cash raised through its $250 million Campaign to End Hunger in Maine, which will primarily be spent on food distribution and strategic initiatives between now and the end of 2025 while aligning investments with the organization’s values.

For organizations pursuing a social or environmental mission, aligning investments to values is a challenging and ongoing task. As a conscientious investor, Zevin Asset Management has two goals: to provide competitive financial returns and to do so while pursuing social change.

“We are excited to help Good Shepherd Food Bank grow their investments so they can do their vital work of ending hunger,” said Sonia Kowal, president of Zevin Asset Management. “They join a fast-growing movement of investors who see their investments as a way to expand their impact beyond grantmaking or programs. Actively engaging with corporations on issues central to the Food Bank’s mission such as inclusivity and living wages is a way of actively calling out risks that we see at our portfolio companies and creating broader societal benefit.”

Through this partnership, Good Shepherd Food Bank is confident the resources donors entrust us with will be deployed in ways that contribute to dismantling systemic inequities. The Food Bank works to eliminate hunger by improving access to nutritious food for people in need, building strong community partnerships, and mobilizing the public in the fight to end hunger.

Zevin Asset Management’s investment philosophy and process stem from the belief that taking less risk leads to better returns over time. The firm has decades of experience using its investor voice to hold companies accountable for their impacts on employees, stakeholders, communities, and ecosystems. They are 100% employee-owned, majority women-owned firm, and a Certified B Corporation.