Meet Joseph Bradley | Executive Director – Little Elm Area Food Bank

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Bradley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in North East Texas, and graduated from Gilmer High School. Growing up the son of a single mother for much of my early childhood, I saw how hard she worked to make sure that my brother and I never went without. With the help of my grandparents and support of our church, we lived a relatively normal childhood. I think this gave me a sense of the need for community to care for one another.

This early example continued throughout my life and informed my personal desire to work with others to help those in need. The people that visit our food bank come from all different walks of life and, for many different reasons, are in need of food assistance. What we offer these families is a helping hand in the form of food!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am feeling so blessed to be able to lead the Little Elm Area Food Bank. The work that the food bank does is so vital to our community and the neighbors that we serve. We serve over 200 families a month, and that number is growing each year. In 2024, we had a 48% increase in the number of families that we served in 2023.

As more people move to the DFW area, there is also an increase in need. Rent is high, and the cost of moving makes it even higher. We help to provide some relief for our neighbors in the area of food insecurity. We cannot completely relieve this need, but we do our best to help bridge the gap between what people need and what they are able to afford to provide for their families.

We could not do this work without the support of organizations like Tarrant Area Food Bank, local businesses like Retractable Technologies and Titus Transportations. Our donors help greatly in covering the costs associated with addressing this need. We also rely on the dedication of 50+ volunteers that give their time and their energy to serve our neighbors. The volunteers are committed to the work we do, and we are so grateful for their service.

I am excited about where we are headed as a food bank. With an increase in families, there is also an increase in opportunities to make an impact on people’s lives. We are currently at capacity in our existing location but have dreams to move somewhere where we can offer more than just food. We have dreams of offering things like financial literacy, nutrition, and cooking classes and more. We want to move from serving food to serving the whole person and helping to equip them with helpful skills. While we search for this new space, we are not allowing the lack of space to deter us from beginning to offer some of these events. We are currently in the early stages of planning our first financial literacy course and are adding weekend events like our Family Volunteer Event to expand our outreach to our neighbors and families.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Little Elm has so many fun spots to hang out and some great food. Tender Smokehouse and Towers Taphouse are great places to start. During the winter months, there is The Cove, and during the summer months, The Lakefront! Little Elm and the surrounding area have so much for folks to do and feel like it is adding more all of the time.

Closer to where I live, McKinney, we love heading downtown and walking the streets, stopping at The Yard for a burger or hitting up Antique Co. Mall for some vintage items. If you want to get away from the square and all the people, One and Only Burger is one of the best burgers in town, and you have to try their zesty fries!

It feels like DFW always has something new to offer, whether it’s the Titanic Exhibit in Addison or a big-time comedian or band coming to the area; we love living in such a vibrant location.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been blessed to have a life full of strong women to help care for and mentor me. Starting with my mother and grandmother as a child through my 20 years of ministry, I have been blessed with strong women who have helped me understand the world from different perspectives than my own white male identity. These women helped teach me compassion and empathy as well as strength and resilience. They taught me how to minister to others and helped unlock my leadership potential that has brought me to where I am today..

Website: https://www.leafb.org

Instagram: LittleElmAreaFoodBank

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-bradley-30b654323/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077806630599

Image Credits
I took all photos.