Episode 1. Stan Curtis – Founder, Kentucky Harvest
(MoxieTalk Interview – October 20, 2005)

Stan Curtis was a Louisville businessman and philanthropist best known for founding organizations dedicated to fighting hunger through food-rescue initiatives.

Born in 1944, Curtis became widely recognized for pioneering efforts to redirect surplus food to people in need.

In December 1986, he experienced a moment that would shape his life’s work. While standing in a cafeteria line, he imagined a system in which excess food that would otherwise be discarded could be collected and delivered to those facing hunger.

In 1987, Curtis founded Kentucky Harvest, a Louisville-based nonprofit organization that collects surplus food from restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, and other sources and distributes it to shelters, food banks, and charitable agencies serving the hungry.

Under Curtis’s leadership, Kentucky Harvest delivered millions of meals throughout the Louisville region. The success of the initiative later inspired the creation of USA Harvest, a national organization designed to expand the concept of food rescue and distribution across the United States.

Curtis also helped launch Blessings in a Backpack, a program that provides weekend food to elementary school children who might otherwise go hungry when school meals are unavailable.

For his work addressing hunger, Curtis received numerous honors and recognitions from civic and national organizations.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was recognized for his efforts and received the President’s Volunteer Action Award during President Bill Clinton’s administration.

However, Curtis’s later years were marked by legal difficulties.

In 2012, he was indicted on federal charges related to financial misconduct involving the nonprofit USA Harvest. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Despite these events, the organizations he helped establish—particularly Kentucky Harvest and Blessings in a Backpack—continue to provide food assistance to individuals and families in need.

This interview with Stan Curtis was recorded on October 20, 2005, during the early years of the MoxieTalk series.

ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW:
Recorded October 20, 2005, before the legal events referenced above.