About Us

We picture a day when hunger and food insecurity cease to exist. When our neighbors and their children do not have nights when they go to bed hungry.

Through all of our programs, we hope to change the trajectory of our children's lives by inspiring them to make healthy food choices. We teach young people the difference between real and processed food. We feed our neighbors. We partner with schools and like-minded organizations to collect and distribute healthy food to those who need it most.

Understanding Our Community Challenge

Food insecurity is not unique to Sullivan County, but it is complicated by our rural setting.

Sullivan County ranks 57 out of 62 counties in New York statewide health rankings, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings & Roadmap. And of the nearly 80,00 residents of the county, 24% of the children live in poverty and suffer from food insecurity. According to our founders, Sims & Kirsten Foster of Foster Supply Hospitality, this was unacceptable in their community and they decided that they needed to act. A Single Bite was started in 2019 and has grown significantly since then.

Our Beliefs: A Positive Relationship with Food

Think back on your childhood and recall 3 of your favorite memories. If you were fortunate to grow up in a home not suffering from food insecurity and in a home that understands the essential link between nutrition and health, then chances are at least one of those positive memories surrounds an experience involving food.

  • We believe in real food and want to inspire children to understand the difference between real and processed food.

  • We believe food is dignity and every person deserves to eat a wholesome meal prepared with love.

  • We believe in the power of sitting down at a table and breaking bread together.

  • We know that children are our future and believe that it is our duty to empower them with the tools to make the right choices for their future.

  • We believe in the importance of positive food memories.

  • We believe food is love.

Where it all started

We began our four-part educational program in Sims' hometown, Livingston Manor, teaching children the difference between real and processed food and empowering them to make the right choices. This educational program is still at the core of the organization and includes a field trip to a local farm to understand where real food comes from, and culminates with a meal at one of the FSH restaurants, where students and teachers are able to sit down together and break bread.

There is a deep connection between A Single Bite and Foster Supply Hospitality, the business our founders built here where their family's roots date back over 100 years. Long a tourist destination, the Sullivan Catskills is on a positive trajectory. And yet, our county continues to be one of the poorest in New York State.

As parents of two young ones, the thought of children going to bed hungry, let alone trying to learn on an empty stomach was too much to bear. That's when their purpose crystallized: use their hospitality background to help our neighbors and affect a change in health through nutrition.

Sims & Kirsten Foster, Our Founders

“How can we expect great things from our children if we fail to give them the basic needs required to survive, let alone thrive”
— Kirsten Harlow Foster, Co-Founder

Our Team

Audrey Garro, Executive Director

Liz Stretch, Real Food Education Manager

Jonathan Martinez, Executive Chef

Cynthia “Sam” Bugna, Manager of Programs, Projects, People

Jennifer Bitetto, Real Food Logistics Manager

Dan Berger, Sous Chef

Our Board of Directors

Sims Foster, Co-Founder & Chairperson

Co-Founder of Foster Supply Hospitality

Barbara Nanovic Garigliano, Esq., Secretary

Attorney, Blustein, Shapiro, Frank & Baron, LLP

Mark McLewin, Director

President of Combined Properties of Sullivan County, Inc. and  PennyWise Properties, as well as Co-Owner of the Neversink General Store.

Kirsten Harlow Foster, Co-Founder & Vice Chairperson

Co-Founder of Foster Supply Hospitality

Nancy Notaro, Director

Global Technology Sales, Microsoft
Grant Advisor to the Dr. David M. Milch Foundation

Jennifer Grimes, Treasurer

Principle, Country House Realty

Todd Ehrling, Director

Director of Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corporation

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