Kim Soltero, SHA’s Food Network Manager

Those who knew Kim Soltero as a youngster would not be surprised to learn that she pursued a career in hunger relief. Kim, an Atlanta native, was a leader in social service activities as a high school student at Pace Academy. She studied sociology in college and, later, earned a culinary degree at Johnson and Wales University.

Her husband Gabe’s military career meant that the family, which grew to include three children, moved frequently. While they were stationed in Guam, Kim created a food-rescue program at the base commissary. Excess food that had previously been discarded was instead redirected to area food pantries.

After leaving Guam in 2016, the Solteros returned to Rhode Island where Kim worked at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and at a soup kitchen as event and volunteer coordinator. When they moved back to Atlanta in 2019, Kim became event manager at a local restaurant, but she missed the sense of mission she had experienced at nonprofits. “I decided to poke around and see what I could find.”

That quest led to Second Helpings Atlanta, where Kim became Food Network Manager. In her spare time, Kim loves cooking and pursuing craft projects with her youngest son, the only one of three boys still at home.

“As a trained chef, I’ve always hated the idea of food waste. Everybody in my family knows that if there’s a Tupperware with leftovers in the refrigerator, they need to eat that first!”  

~ Kim Soltero