Carry Us Both Forward

Jill Dixon turns a promise to her late brother into a movement that confronts hunger through food, policy, and contagious generosity.

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Jill Dixon’s work begins with a promise. When she was 18, her 15-year-old brother, Keith, died suddenly. As he was dying, she promised to carry them both forward. She has asked herself whether she is living fully enough to honor the life he did not get to live.

Food insecurity was already woven into her family’s story. As an ill infant, Dixon required expensive formula, while her parents survived on inexpensive food so she could have what she needed. Years later, as a classroom teacher, she watched hungry children rush toward breakfast and saw how an empty stomach shaped learning, relationships, and a child’s participation in the world.

Today, as executive director of The Food Depot, Dixon helps lead northern New Mexico’s regional food bank. The organization moves millions and millions of pounds of food through communities, partner organizations, and its own programs. Yet Dixon insists that distribution alone is not enough. The Food Depot also works upstream, challenging the policies and conditions that cause hunger. Her message is direct: hunger is a policy choice.

That conviction is balanced by a belief in abundance. Dixon sees donors, volunteers, staff members, and neighbors choosing generosity every day. During the pandemic, she stood before headlights circling an abandoned mall, uncertain whether there would be enough food for every family. The team stayed for hours. They did not run out.

For Dixon, doing good is not reserved for people with resources. A five-dollar bill can provide meals. Two volunteer hours can move food. One conversation can influence public policy. Each act invites another person into a movement.

Seeing goodness, Dixon says, is itself a choice. When people share what they have—money, time, knowledge, or connection—their generosity becomes contagious. Thousands of small acts begin moving together, carrying families, communities, and hope forward.