Good Cheer’s new executive director is a familiar face in the South Whidbey community.

Jonathan Kline was recently selected for the leadership role. A Greenbank resident, he previously served as the executive director for the Skagit Friendship House in Mount Vernon and the Whidbey Homeless Coalition.

Kline has a long history in the nonprofit sector, mainly focused on food security and nutrition, both domestically and internationally. He has spent at least half his life living overseas in other countries doing nonprofit work.

In his role with the Whidbey Homeless Coalition, Kline often referred clients to Good Cheer’s food bank. As a father of four living on a nonprofit salary, he also utilized Good Cheer’s services in the past. He praised the food pantry for its unique system that allows people to choose their own items, rather than being given a basket of pre-selected food.

“Being able to provide the choice for folks and having it set up where you’re going through and shopping with the points you’re given for the month” goes a long way, he said.

Kline has a background in agriculture and is excited about Good Cheer’s vegetable garden, where produce is grown for the pantry. He is eager to continue networking with Whidbey farmers about purchasing their produce.

Kline said he is “really looking forward to continuing to make sure we’re feeding our neighbors.” On Monday morning this week, when the food pantry opened its doors, 20 people were waiting to come inside.

“We do see an increased need for access to food on Whidbey,” he said.

He started serving as Good Cheer’s executive director just last month. He replaces two co-executive directors, Karen Korbelik and Cindy Boone, who will continue to have roles within Good Cheer – Korbelik as the organization’s operations manager, and Boone as treasurer on the board of directors.