The Rev. Richard Goebel believed that nobody should have to go without food, and that is what spurred him into action as a fierce crusader in the fight against hunger, locally and nationally.

Goebel founded the Greater St. Paul Second Harvest Food Bank in 1982 and served as its executive director until he retired in 2001. During his tenure, he was instrumental in creating the Greater Minneapolis Second Harvest Food Bank and later merging them to create what is now known as Second Harvest Heartland, the largest food bank in Minnesota.

He was a master at building relationships and getting others to join his hunger-fighting efforts. He was among the first to pick up restaurant and grocery food destined for the trash and get it to people in need. He was instrumental in creating the popular Taste of the NFL fundraiser, and he helped create Feeding America, a national network of more than 200 food banks throughout the United States, those who knew him said.

StarTribune