In a state that generated over $11 billion in farm sales last year, it’s hard to imagine that local families do not have enough to eat. But Rob Ranieri, CEO at Stuart’s House of Hope, says food insecurity affects everyone. “Our clients are children, seniors, single-parent households, kids aging out of foster care; we run the gamut.” Ranieri has been at the helm of the nonprofit for over a decade, launching programs to feed families and empower them to succeed. It is a role he seems born into, but one that came to him serendipitously.
Ranieri first joined House of Hope as a volunteer, helping then-CEO Elizabeth Barbella get Martin County’s permission to use a county-owned building. “During that process, she called me, told me she was leaving, and said she told the board to hire me. I just laughed,” recalls Ranieri. But Barbella was serious and so was the board. “They painted a picture of where they were and where they wanted to be,” he says. “The more I learned, the more I felt like I had a lot of what was needed to get to the next level.” And just like that, Ranieri went from volunteer to CEO.
Under Ranieri’s leadership, House of Hope opened the Golden Gate Center for Enrichment, which now offers no-cost classes and workshops focusing on education, career readiness, health, nutrition, arts, and culture. The House of Hope office in Stuart was also expanded, adding a commercial kitchen and more space to the food pantry “Those were big springboards to focusing not just on feeding people, but feeding them well,” says Ranieri. “We were able to make sandwiches and salads and get them out to people experiencing homelessness. We started a food reclamation program, getting food from area restaurants and caterers.” In 2019, Ranieri took another big step when House of Hope built a hydroponic farm in Palm City to grow fresh produce…