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Magazine
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Entrepreneurship
For Valerie Traore, giving back is a family tradition. “When most kids were in summer camp, we were volunteering,†says Traore of her summer breaks that included working in food pantries, senior centers, and tutoring, while growing up in Baltimore with her four siblings. With the importance of volunteerism instilled in her by her grandparents James and Lottie Shaw, Traore’s work with local food drives and clothing banks prepared her well. Today, the 48-year-old chief executive officer of Food Bank of South Jersey ensures approximately 101,000 people per year in a four-county coverage area (serving Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, and Salem counties) will not go hungry.