Tuesday, September 28, 2021

A Tribute to Bob Randels, Founder of Food Bank of So. Central MI.

Bob Randels/Courtesy Randels Family
I had the privilege of working with Bob Randels, founder of the Food Bank of South Central MI, for twenty-eight years. It's now called the South Michigan Food Bank, and is still going strong with the same purpose of getting food to families and individuals in need.


Sometimes people are defined by what they do. But, to me, Bob Randels was defined by who he was.

Patient beyond belief.

Always kind.

Smart and quick with a quip.

Remarkably encouraging.

Funny.

Bob was a visionary and his vision was birthed out of a deep commitment to alleviating hunger, especially among children, which he found deeply unacceptable.

He was also an excellent networker, although he would say he found that word annoying. What he liked to do was simply extend invitations to come join in the "good idea of foodbanking."

Those invites took the form of forging seamless working relationships with food manufacturers, farmers, funders and individual donors - thousands of them.

He took public events and places and turned them into hedgerows for alleviating hunger. So, Battle Creek's Cereal Festival soon included an Empty Bowls activity that captured the attention of hundreds of school children who created bowls to help end hunger among their peers.

To Bob, the possibilities were endless. 

Scene Magazine
The local mall became an art gallery for a couple of weeks with sculptures made of cans of food lining the walkway. Battle Creek's Fort Custer Industrial Park became the scene of the Fort Food Challenge where, at one point, 25 different manufacturing plants joined together to collect food.

And so it went.

And so the "good idea of foodbanking" eventually spread across eight counties in South Central Michigan, distributing millions of pounds of food to over 200 agencies that had emergency feeding programs.

Bob oversaw this growth.

He was the spark for it.

As the years rolled by, certain sayings he coined remained in my mind.

Like, trying to make effective use of time. If you were headed for a meeting, Bob encouraged you to do something else along the way. He called it creating a "two mints in one," type of situation.

When the holiday season rush began - from early October through December - he would often pause in the middle of the busiest of days - to remind us of the reason we were so busy, remarking "patience is a virtue."

Battle Creek Enquirer
Truth be told, Bob wasn't fond of meetings that didn't seem to have a direct purpose. He would often report that he "did a cameo" at some of them - meaning he went in, offered insight, and then left as quickly and discreetly as he could.

He was focused. 

But he was also preternaturally empathetic.

[I left the Food Bank on two occasions. One to live in Northern Ireland for four months, helping out a group doing reconciliation work. Another time, shortly after 9/11, I was gone for 14 months to work with a group ministering to kids in Brooklyn, NY.

Both times he welcomed me back and had new assignments that made use of what I had learned.]

Bob had a knack for taking the best in you and building upon it to bring out something even better.

The Food Bank grew because Bob grew and he invited everyone around him into that creative process.

During Bob's tenure at the Food Bank, there were three economic recessions. He kept the Food Bank moving forward through all of them, inspiring others to care that their neighbors got fed.

He had an almost shy smile that came out slowly but often.

His voice was always calming, especially when encouraging us to keep going in the middle of difficulty.

His presence was encouraging, inviting, uplifting and full of hope.

And now that Bob Randels is (physically) gone from this earth, I can still hear him gently reminding us to be kind to each other. As he often said, "all to a better heart."


Bob also helped found the Food Bank Council of Michigan.  And he was responsible for connecting the Food Bank with Feeding America, the national network of foodbanking. 

8 comments:

  1. Bob taught me the art of a cameo, lol. His creativity and love of others showed all the time. And you are right... "the Food Bank grew because Bob grew and he invited everyone around him into that creative process." There was so much beauty in his invitation to join in and put your own spin on helping others and being compassionate. A super connector of sorts (networker). And I will always remember the word luddite because of Bob, lol. He was an amazing man and mentor in so many ways.

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  2. Yes! Luddite is another word he often used. Especially when computers first came into common use. So many times Bob would call me into his office to help him figure some piece of technology out. Most of the time, I couldn't and we both wound up laughing as he'd comment, "well, I guess we're both luddites then..."

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  3. OMG, Dan...I had no idea about Bob's passing! He was an incredible gem of a guy - loved working with him and the team. What a beautiful, beautiful tribute!

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    1. Thank You for your kind words. Yes, Bob really was exactly what you describe!

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  4. Beautiful tribute, Dan. His inspiring legacy expands the more we write about him and tell the story of the man who fed - and continues to feed - so many.

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    1. Thank you. And yes, Bob's legacy continues to inspire and lives on.

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  5. Thank you for writing this beautiful tribute, Dan. I learn new things about Bob through the stories you and others tell. I just wish he was here so I could ask him about them and remind him how wonderful he is.

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  6. Thank you for your comment. Bob is very much still around in spirit!

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