Laura Cohen leaves The Lord’s Cupboard for family life in Chicago

Laura Cohen, the executive director of The Lord’s Cupboard in Fairfield, is stepping down from her post to be closer to family in Chicago.

Cohen has been director of the food pantry since 2013. She and her husband, Mark, moved to Fairfield when Mark was recruited to the area for a job. Cohen said she was interested in working for a food pantry because she once had to rely on a pantry to put food on the table for her children.

“I wanted to pay it forward, and I’ve grown to love the nonprofit industry,” Cohen said.

Cohen said the thing she is most proud of during her tenure as director is moving The Lord’s Cupboard in 2016 from its former location on B Street to its current location at the corner of North Fourth Street and West Grimes Avenue. She said the move has done wonders to increase the visibility of the food pantry so more people are aware of its services. She added that she’s made a special effort in recent years to promote the food pantry through marketing, press releases, its own website and Facebook page.

Cohen estimated that the number of people using the food pantry has more than doubled during her time as director, and she attributes that to more people knowing about it.

Though Cohen loves her job and loves what she has accomplished at The Lord’s Cupboard, she and Mark felt it was time to be closer to their children. One of her daughters, Lindsay, lives with her husband in Chicago and has been trying to get the rest of the family to move there. The Cohens’ two other children, daughter Erin and son Cody, have been eager to move to Chicago for some time, but Laura said she and Mark were always the holdouts. But now they’re ready to start a new chapter in a new city.

Mark will continue to work remotely at his job as marketing director for Food Chain ID, based in Fairfield. Laura said she’s not sure what she’ll do yet, but she hopes to remain in the nonprofit world.

The Lord's Cupboard is accepting applications to replace Cohen as executive director. This is a part-time paid position, and more information can be found by visiting the organization's website at LordsCupboard.org. Applications are due by 4 p.m. on Monday, April 12.