CEO steps down from Second Harvest Heartland food bank

Allison O’Toole, chief executive of Second Harvest Heartland, one of Minnesota’s largest social services nonprofits, plans to step down.

O’Toole has led the Brooklyn Park-based nonprofit, one of the biggest food banks in the nation, since 2019. Since her arrival, Second Harvest has grown by dozens of positions and increased food distribution by 30% to 167 million pounds a year, according to the organization.

“Through innovation and partnership, we have redefined what it means to be a food bank and shown what can be done when we come together,” O’Toole said in a news release.

O’Toole will leave her position in June. Second Harvest’s Chief Operating Officer Sarah Moberg will take over as interim chief executive officer.

The organization, previously based out of Maplewood, moved in 2020 to its much larger headquarters in Brooklyn Park. Under O’Toole’s leadership, it launched a “moonshot goal” to cut the state’s hunger rate in half by 2030.

The plan, estimated to cost the organization $150 million over six years, included pushing state lawmakers for more poverty reduction programs, increasing outreach work, adding more food pick-up spots, expanding mobile food distributions and more.

Second Harvest distributes food to hundreds of programs across the state and helps administer some government programs aiming to improve food security. It also has expanded its care center team with multilingual employees helping residents navigate food stamp applications and connect with other services.

New data released by the nonprofit in January showed 1 in 5 Minnesota households are food insecure.

O’Toole is a former prosecutor who also previously worked for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Before joining Second Harvest, she served as the top executive for MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance exchange, as well as a senior director at nonprofit United States of Care.

“Allison O’Toole is an outstanding leader. Her vision and commitment to Second Harvest Heartland has driven significant growth and innovation, allowing the organization to serve more Minnesotans than ever,” said Jill Bollettieri, chair of the Second Harvest Heartland board, in a statement.

The announcement of O’Toole’s departure came less than a month after her paycheck attracted scrutiny during a recent Minnesota House committee meeting.

Members of the chamber’s Ways and Means Committee gathered March 17 to discuss an agricultural bill that included roughly $900,000 in cuts to Second Harvest.

Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, had questioned the Republican co-chair of the Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee about the decision to cut funding.

“We made choices,” Rep. Paul Anderson said, noting he believed Second Harvest would be able to keep up its work with reduced funding.

Rep. Marion Rarick, a Republican, attuned lawmakers to the nonprofit’s generous employee salaries. Rarick said several employees made more than Gov. Tim Walz, who earns roughly $127,000.

According to IRS filings, Second Harvest received more than $235 million in grants and contributions in 2022.

As the large nonprofit’s top leader, O’Toole earned more than $721,000 that year from her base salary plus additional compensation with the organization spending $22 million on employee compensation overall.

Second Harvest officials responded to the comments in a statement to Fox9, saying “92.5 cents of every dollar we spend goes toward food and hunger relief programming, with only 3.6% of our budget dedicated to general and administrative expense — which includes compensation.”

The nonprofit said last year, “government contracts made up roughly 2% of our $315 million annual budget, with $1.7 million coming from the state of Minnesota, all of which was designated for direct food spending.”

Leaders added that the nonprofit’s wages help attract and retain talented employees “best suited to help solve Minnesota’s growing hunger crisis.”

During the past six years, Second Harvest increased operational revenue to $316 million in 2024, according to the release. The nonprofit has more than 250 employees.