About Our Daily Bread Food Pantry

Allyson grew up in Marlton, NJ attended Slippery Rock State College in PA where she majored in Psychology. Moved to Texas when she was 19 to finish college at Texas A & M Commerce with a degree in Human Resources and Operations Management.  She later furthered her education through post-graduate work in HR at the University of Texas at Arlington and University of Phoenix.

Allyson’s career began in diverse business areas such as the oil fields of Oklahoma and West Texas as Safety and HR Director, the Homebuilding industry and finally, the last 20 years of her career were in the Healthcare Financial space where she was the senior executive of Human Resources for a large international corporation saying grace over approximately 8,000 people. Her specialty was domestic and international employment law and relations.

Allyson received her lifetime Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation in 1989.  She also received her Managed Healthcare Professional (MHP) designation as well as a certified management instructor for numerous courses and Certified Payroll Professional designation.

Her first husband, Jerry, died of cancer and she was a single Mom of a 5 and 15-year-old for about 7 years before she met Marco Islander Jim Richards, who had lost his wife to the same disease. They have 6 children between them.  Allyson is currently on the Board of the Marco Island Charter Middle School, a member of the Community Foundation of Collier County, the Women’s Foundation, the Finance Committee for San Marco Catholic Church, a member of CCW, a board member of the Marco Island Historical Society, Christmas Island Style, assists with the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, is a co-leader of the monthly senior Luncheon entitled “Lunch with Our Friends Over 60”, and a member of the Marco Island Park and Recreation Board. Additionally, she coordinates a “bread run” through the YMCA and weekly mobile food pantries (in conjunction with the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry) both on and off the island.

Since moving to Marco Island, she has been honored with the Spirit of Marco award, the Volunteer of the Year award and the Women of Initiative Award for the Community Foundation of Collier County.

A New Haven, Connecticut native, Evelyn has dedicated her career to causes she believes in. Evelyn focuses on positively impacting her community and utilizing her diverse skill set to serve the children and families of Collier County.

She has served in leadership positions for several nonprofit and educational organizations, including Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES), the Thyroid, Head and Neck Cancer (THANC) Foundation, the Children’s Museum of the Arts, and the Museum of the City of New York. Before joining Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, Evelyn was instrumental in establishing the SWFL Health and Wellness Coalition. The Coalition served Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, and Glades counties and focused on food access and nutrition, active living, health systems, behavioral health, and community health.

Evelyn earned a Doctor of Education degree in Educational. Administration/Organizational Leadership and a Master of Arts degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in French and Elementary Education from Columbia University. A lifelong learner, in 2021, Evelyn successfully completed Yale University’s School of Management Women’s Leadership program.

While in Connecticut, she served as the Vice Chair of the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, an affiliate of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, where she strengthened connections between the education and business sectors. Additionally, Evelyn served on the New Haven board of Junior Achievement for Southwest New England and was Vice President of the National Organization of Italian American Women’s Connecticut chapter.

Evelyn has been recognized for her professional and community contributions throughout her career. In 2021, the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce awarded her the Excellence in Advocacy Award. Her greatest professional and personal honor was when the Italian government knighted her Cavaliere dell’Ordine Della Stella Della Solidarieta Italiana in recognition of her work promoting cultural, educational, and commercial exchanges between Italy and the United States.

Hailing originally from Massena, NY, Nancy held a variety of Engineering and Executive Management positions with Alcoa, Inc. and Kodak in New York, Indiana, Tennessee and Georgia.  Her education includes a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Master of Arts degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Bastyr University.

Joining Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, Inc. in June, 2016 after retiring, Nancy currently serves as President of this volunteer organization that has seen a growth of over 400% in the last 2 years.  Nancy is a member of San Marco Catholic Church and Catholic Coalition of Women (CCW) and is co-founder of “Lunch with Friends”, a monthly luncheon bringing together restaurants, civic organizations, churches, Seniors seeking socialization, and the food pantry.

As a Founder and Vice President of the Pantry, Liz Pecora draws upon her corporate executive experience to communicate the mission of working to wipe out hunger in the greater community. Before moving to Florida, Liz held positions with Delta Airlines and the hotel and hospitality industry, working in national sales and marketing. Known for her caring demeanor and focus, Liz is recognized for her ability to engage the community to build a greater community both at the Pantry and in Collier County.

In 2016, Liz was one of the founding members of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry and had co-led the continual expansion of the pantry over the past several years. Together with the other founders, she was recognized as Marco Island Civic Association’s 2017 Humanitarian of the Year award. 

Liz’s passion for providing food assistance to anyone in need began when she was widowed and in need. Receiving food from her church’s food pantry with love and dignity helped her get back into the employment market. It was such a blessing for Liz that she vowed if, given the opportunity, she would someday be a part of hunger relief activities. That opportunity came in late 2015 with the creation of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry.

In addition to her work with the Pantry in hunger relief, Liz currently serves as Treasurer of the Collier Disaster Alliance (CDA), formed after Hurricane Irma, to maximize the effectiveness of relief efforts in dealing with future natural disasters. In 2022 Liz was certified as a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem. She and her husband serve as volunteer advocates for children in the 20th Judicial Circuit- Collier County, FL.

Ron was born and raised in Upstate New York and attended the State University of NY at Albany earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in accounting, becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1974.  He started his career with the accounting firm of KPMG and later continued his career with the State of New York managing and directing Accounting and Auditing Departments at various State agencies for the next thirty years.   He also served as an Adjunct Professor at Siena College in Loudonville, NY as an instructor of Intermediate Accounting.  Ron served as an officer in the New York Army National Guard, retiring in 1979.  Following retirement from NYS service in 2004, Ron and his wife Vicki moved to Marco Island where he started a CPA practice.

Along with his volunteer work with the Food Pantry, Ron is a Member of the San Marco Catholic Church and serves as a Eucharistic Minister.  He has been a member of the San Marco Knights of Columbus for the last 16 years, currently serving as Treasurer for the Council and Faithful Purser for the Assembly. Ron is also the Assistant Treasurer and a Board member for the Marco Island Historical Society.

Albert Benarroch was raised in Chicago and feels blessed to call Marco Island his home.  He lives here with his wife Yvette, and their 2 children Zachary (17) and Danny (15) and their two golden retrievers named Rocky and Lucky. Al and his wife Yvette are the proud owners of Affordable Landscaping Service & Design, LLC; a business that has been serving the Marco Island community since 1996 and specializes in landscape design, landscape maintenance, tree trimming, irrigation design & repairs, paver installation, fertilization and pest control services.  Al has over 46 years of experience in the landscaping industry. His passion is helping his clients discover how they can beautify their landscape, creating that unique outdoor space and connecting with customers throughout the landscaping projects. Al also loves being able to provide customers true value through both the relationship and the level of service Affordable Landscaping Service & Design, LLC provides. Al and his wife Yvette believe that nothing is more rewarding than giving back to the community, so they always make time to get involved with groups and organizations that help the community and those in need. Al is Vice President of Manatee Rifle & Archery Club and Past 2^nd Vice President of JCMI. Al enjoys helping others, fishing, hunting, traveling and spending time with his family.