Kate Murphy: The Maryland Food Bank’s 2025 Volunteer of the Year

We’re humbled that each year, thousands of volunteers choose to donate tens of thousands of hours of their time to help us continue to expand access to nutritious foods and open pathways out of hunger for more Marylanders.

And while we are deeply appreciative of the efforts of all of our volunteers, we wanted to highlight six individuals in particular. In a recent blog post, we shined a spotlight on five volunteers deserving of special recognition for their efforts in different volunteering activities and now are pleased to share that Kate Murphy is the recipient of the 2025 Volunteer of the Year award. Volunteers are nominated by their peers, and the honoree chosen by food bank staff.

Kate began her Maryland Food Bank volunteer journey in 2013 but has been surrounded by a “doing for others” mentality for most of her life.

“Growing up, being mean wasn’t an option! My parents were very religious, and just did things to help people,” Kate shared.

With such role models, it’s no wonder that Kate has given so much of herself to help others.

Even though her parents had gone through the Great Depression, Kate does not remember food being an issue in her home growing up. But an experience disciplining a misbehaving student while serving as a substitute teacher opened her eyes to the challenges of food insecurity.

“He was being naughty, so I told him he had to come back to my classroom at lunchtime. Then, just before lunchtime, he came in and said ‘Can I please go eat lunch? I’ll come back after that, or after-school or tonight?’ It was then I realized that the school lunch might be the only meal he had that day,” she shared.

As she recalled the decades-old experience, Kate lamented the current state of affairs in Maryland. “I remember thinking back then, this is America, and people should not be going hungry. Well, here we are in 2025, and I’m still shocked at seeing how much food is being thrown away or wasted when there are so many people here in Maryland that have a big problem with hunger,” she said.

Armed with the empathetic lessons her parents imparted, Kate found the idealism and opportunity of the late 1960s and early 1970s provided further personal growth.

“Back in the hippie days, with the war going on, things felt important, and people, including me, just wanted to be able to make a difference. The Peace Corps went to other countries, but I wanted to stay and do work in the United States, so I became a Vista volunteer,” said Kate.

Kate gained valuable experience working in National Parks, helping women navigate the requirements of drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, and speaking at schools about the dangers of drug abuse.

Throughout her various volunteering activities, Kate found that building community was what really attracted her to the activity. Over the last 12 years, she has been enjoying that community here at the Maryland Food Bank:

With Kate’s purposeful efforts to set an example for others, it’s no wonder that we have such a sense of community among volunteers.

“I’m one of those people that believe in just being kind to people,” she shared. “I try to do three kind things a day, and they don’t have to be major—it can be as small as letting someone in on the beltway or talking to someone at the grocery store—but if we’re all just a little nicer to each other we can be one big community,” Kate continued.

During her decade+ of service to her hungry neighbors in Maryland, Kate has given her time and talent to just about every volunteer opportunity at the Maryland Food Bank.

“While I mostly do the warehouse shifts now, you name it, I’ve done it here.”

Kate shared memories of figuring out the most efficient ways of sorting donated food on the conveyor belt, making reminder calls to other volunteers, assisting staff with a variety of administrative tasks, and even a few shifts in the freezer – which she jokingly said she’s happy to leave for other volunteers to experience.

Inside the Maryland Food Bank, we’re all big fans of Kate, so to hear the excitement in her voice when describing some of her volunteer experiences outside the food bank, where she was the one in awe, was really heartwarming!

“I’m a big Orioles fan, so to be able to go to Baltimore Orioles (and Ravens) games and take in donations is wonderful. But then there was Bruce!” she added.

On April 7, 2023, Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band invited Kate and a number of other MFB volunteers to collect food and funds prior to their show at CFG Arena.

“God bless Bruce Springsteen, because every place he does concerts, he helps the local food banks. And the chance to be a part of that community—fans that wanted to feed people—talk about a once in a lifetime experience!” Kate shared.

And with that endearing combination of niceness and that lifetime of experiences, it’s not surprising that her peers selected Kate as the 2025 Maryland Food Bank Volunteer of the Year.

“While being selected is wonderful, and I am grateful, it’s also a little embarrassing. There are people who volunteer more than I do – two or even four times a week! We have so many extraordinary people volunteering here, and I’m honored that they chose me,” she noted.