Jodi Falk (she/her) joined the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts as director of the Rachel’s Table (RT) program in 2019 and, due to RT’s growth, has led the transition of RT to its own nonprofit entity in 2023. Over the past four years, Jodi has tripled the service area of food rescue, exponentially increased the amount and variety of food served, and with advisory support and focus digitized RT’s operations for maximum impact. Along with 300+ committed volunteers and a dedicated and talented staff, Jodi has initiated food justice initiatives such as Growing Gardens, which enables sustainable and self-determined options for food security and optimal nourishment for any of RT’s 65+ agencies. Recently, Jodi was awarded the honor of being one of BusinessWest’s 2022 Women of Impact as well as the Springfield Symphony’s Fearless Woman Award for Authenticity in 2023.
Jodi comes to Rachel’s Table with years of leadership and fundraising in the arts, community engagement, and social justice activism. In addition, Jodi comes with personal experience of food insecurity as a past recipient of the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) food supplement program when her son was young.
Researching and working with diverse communities in South Africa, Israel and Brazil, and in our own western MA backyard, Jodi earned a PhD that focuses on community activism and socially engaged arts. Jodi was the Founding Director of Dance at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, MA, the Director of Choreography and creator of community-engaged programming at the Laban Centre, London, UK, (now Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance), and Coordinator of Community Engagement and Outreach for the Five College Dance Consortium in Amherst, MA. Jodi has created programs that build bridges, break down barriers, and reach across differences to promote equity and champion justice. As a local leader in a special needs parents’ rights watchdog group and a developer of projects in the arts and social justice that serve diverse populations such as incarcerated young women, vulnerable seniors, adults with intellectual disabilities, teen mothers, and foster families, Jodi’s work has focused on nourishing bodies and nurturing lives.