12.31.24
/ Community
Today, we say farewell to our Special Advisor to the CEO and former President & CEO Karen Pearl, as she concludes more than 18 years of wonderful service at God’s Love We Deliver.
In September 2006, Karen joined God’s Love as President & CEO. Her tenure was marked by significant growth, as the number of meals cooked and delivered quadrupled to 2.8 million as did the volunteer base, to more than 17,000. Helping make this growth possible, in 2011, God’s Love embarked on an ambitious $36 million Expansion Campaign to more than double the size of our facility, opening the new 50,000 square foot Michael Kors Building in 2015. The new facility allowed God’s Love to serve more than 4 million meals annually to thousands of clients, caregivers, and their children.
Under Karen’s leadership, God’s Love was the winner of a New York Times Nonprofit Excellence award in 2010. In 2018, Karen was a winner of the New York State Department of Health Social Determinants of Health Innovation Award, the City/State Women’s Leadership Award, and in 2019, was named one of Crain’s Notable Women in Health Care. In 2022, she was awarded the Golden Heart Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Golden Heart Awards dinner.
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Karen has been a leader in the national Food Is Medicine movement, serving as Chairperson of the Food Is Medicine Coalition, the national association of nonprofit, medically tailored food and nutrition services (FNS) providers. In January, we’ll see one of the outcomes of years of hard work and advocacy as we begin to add clients through the 1115 Medicaid Waiver program.
In 2023, Karen assumed the role of Special Advisor to the President & CEO as she was succeeded by David Ludwigson. In the past two years, she has continued working to secure the future of God’s Love and the Food is Medicine movement across the United States.
In 2025, Karen will continue her important work in the food is medicine space locally and across the country, as she works with the Food Is Medicine Coalition’s Accelerator Program.
While the numbers and accolades are impressive, Karen has always put our clients first, ensuring that God’s Love lives up to its core commitments of never charging clients for their meals, delivering meals on the first available delivery day and never having a waiting list.
We are immensely grateful to Karen for her nearly two decades of service to God’s Love and her utmost dedication to our clients, volunteers, staff, supporters, and life-affirming mission. From the bottom of our hearts—and the bottom of our pots–thank you, Karen!
9.28.22 / Policy
Karen Pearl, God's Love President & CEO, spoke on a "Food is Medicine" panel at the Biden-Harris Administration's White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Medically tailored meals (MTM) and “Food Is Medicine” are featured as high-level recommendations in the National Strategy.
12.22.22 / Community
Dear Community, I write to you today with gratitude – gratitude for a wonderful holiday season, for a year full of tremendous growth and opportunity for God’s Love We Deliver, and most of all, gratitude for every single person who has made the past sixteen years so remarkable. As you know, this is my last hol…
