Briana Webster Campbell is the managing director for No Kid Hungry’s Center for Best Practices. She manages a team of child nutrition experts who serve as the organization’s “go-to” on the federal nutrition programs. Briana’s two decade career has been spent working at mission-driven organizations that strive to make our country a more equitable and just place for all. Today she shares her “why”.
"I grew up in Chapel Hill rooted in stories of faith and resilience by two parents from farms in rural North Carolina. My mom and dad were raised in households with material scarcity, but creativity, labor and love were more than abundant.
My mom, one of fifteen children, grew up without running water, an indoor toilet or a car. Yet, daily, my grandmother would feed twenty people a hot meal at suppertime using fresh vegetables from the garden, chickens from the yard and the skill of her hands. Those images of resourcefulness and generosity taught me early that food is more than fuel — it is care, culture, community and how we show love.
Briana's mom (bottom row, 4th from left) with some of her siblings & their parents at a family reunion on their farm in Rougemont, NC
Those lessons sat alongside a second truth: health outcomes and economic security in our communities often reflect access limitations rather than individual will or hard work. I watched chronic conditions — diabetes, hypertension, cancer — touch family and friends, disproportionately affecting Black and Brown communities, not just within my personal circles, but throughout the South.
My grandparents raised my dad and his seven siblings in a faith‑filled household during an era when segregation was the norm. The Websters taught their children and grandchildren persistence, strong values and a dogged determination to stand up for what is right, even when it challenged the status quo.
Briana's dad (bottom row, 2nd from right) with his parents & five of his seven siblings. Learn more about Briana's dad, Judge and Minister Joe L. Webster.
Stories like my grandparents only reaching the 4th and 10th grades, and how, in 1966, my dad was in the first class to integrate his local school system, revealed the complex systems built to constrain opportunity for some in our society. Seeing how environment, access, and policy shape health and economic outcomes made me question why zip codes, resources, or the color of one’s skin so often determine their future.
That questioning became conviction. From a young age, I felt a personal call to improve the lives of others. My career choices— including more than nine years of work here at Share Our Strength, the organization behind No Kid Hungry and over two decades in policy and public health— are driven by the belief that every child deserves nutritious food that fuels learning and growth and that communities deserve the conditions needed to thrive. I view food access as a moral imperative and an essential foundation for health, education and equity.
This conviction guides my work with No Kid Hungry and the organizations I support beyond my job. I volunteer for and support groups that reduce food waste, cultivate youth‑centered gardens and deliver meals to seniors. I serve on a board focused on providing financial resources that assist youth in achieving their college dreams and another board dedicated to building coalitions to end hunger domestically and globally.
Briana on the right with her parents and siblings, celebrating her dad’s 70th birthday
These commitments reflect the values I learned from my family: be creative with your resources, share what you grow, use your talents to help better the lives of others and keep faith that a more just society is possible — but it requires all of us working together to build it.
My deepest hope is that our work will be unnecessary one day — that every child and family will have the food and opportunity they need. Until then, I will keep fighting, serving and teaching my children these values so the work continues: not just feeding a child today, but changing the systems, policies and conditions that have made hunger part of childhood in the first place."
Briana's two sons volunteering at a local DC farm
