For Kristine Borok, leading Feeding Westchester is more than a professional role. It is deeply personal. 

Long before she became President and CEO, Kristine understood what community support can mean for a family. Raised in a household that benefited from others showing up in moments of need, she knows firsthand how life-changing that support can be. 

“Coming from a modest upbringing, I learned early on how much community support can shape a family’s future,” Kristine said. 

That experience helped shape her sense of purpose early on. It also planted the belief that service is not just something you do. It is something you carry with you. 

Today, Kristine leads Feeding Westchester at a time when hunger in our county remains both widespread and too often misunderstood. In a place many people associate with abundance, more than 1 in 3 households are at risk of hunger. Behind that number are neighbors across Westchester who are working hard, caring for their families, contributing to their communities, and still struggling to keep up with the cost of living.  

That is what Kristine wants more people to understand. 

“The face of hunger is not necessarily who you think,” she said. “It’s probably somebody you know.” 

At Feeding Westchester, that understanding matters. Hunger is not a distant issue. It is local. It touches families in every part of the county. It can look like a parent trying to make sure there is enough food to pack a child’s lunch. It can look like a senior stretching a fixed income. It can look like a worker doing everything right and still needing support. 

For Kristine, one of the most meaningful parts of stepping into this role has been seeing the depth of commitment across Feeding Westchester’s community partner network. She recalls meeting a volunteer leader in Mount Vernon who works full-time supporting people experiencing homelessness and then spends her evenings and weekends organizing food distributions for neighbors facing hunger. 

Stories like that stay with her because they reflect what powers this work every day: people choosing to show up for one another. 

That same spirit of partnership is what gives Kristine hope. She points to the COVID-19 pandemic as a powerful example of what happens when communities come together to meet a moment of urgent need. 

She saw organizations, volunteers, donors, and community leaders step up in extraordinary ways to help neighbors access food and support. As new challenges continue to put pressure on households across Westchester, she believes that same spirit of partnership will help the community respond again. 

For Kristine, that moment remains a reminder of what is possible when people act together. And as new challenges continue to put pressure on households across Westchester, she believes that same collective resolve will help the community meet this moment too. 

At the center of it all is dignity. 

For Feeding Westchester, the work is not only about providing food. It is about helping reduce stress for families, removing shame, and making sure neighbors can access the support they need with respect. It is about building a stronger, more responsive community where people have access to the food they need today and the resources to build a better tomorrow.  

Kristine is proud to lead that work, but she is just as quick to point to the people around her, from staff to volunteers to community partners, who make it possible. 

“They’re not separate from the mission,” she said. “They’re part of it. They’re part of our team.” 

That is the story of Feeding Westchester. Neighbors supporting neighbors. A community responding with compassion and determination. And a shared belief that hunger in Westchester is real, urgent, and solvable when we face it together.