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Pelin Pekgun Joins Second Harvest Food Bank’s Advisory Council

Portrait of Pelin Pekgun.
Portrait of Pelin Pekgun.

Pelin Pekgun, Thomas H. Davis Professor in Business and Professor of Analytics, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of Second Harvest Food Bank’s inaugural Advisory Council. 

Formed in response to sustained, historic levels of requests for assistance and an uncertain policy and government funding environment, the group aims to help increase Second Harvest’s ability to tell their story, engage more people in their work, and tap additional brain power to boost their strategic focus.

“I am honored to represent Wake Forest in this effort and grateful for the opportunity to support a Pro Humanitate mission I care so deeply about,” said Pekgun.

The Council’s work is expected to focus on sharing professional expertise, insights, and experiences to support the strategic thinking and planning related to the organization’s operations, as well as helping to shape the organization to respond to future trends.

Pekgun, as part of her ongoing research in food bank operations and collaborations with food banks, had a study published in the Journal of Operations Management last year analyzing the effectiveness and impact of a food bank’s part-time workforce dedicated to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach efforts. 

This year, she has additional publications forthcoming in Production and Operations Management and the Journal of Public Economics investigating food waste reduction in food bank operations in relation to distribution strategies and the relationship between in-kind government assistance programs, specifically free school meals, and the potential “crowd-out” effect on charitable services, such as food banks.