The Raley’s Cos. recently underscored its commitment to purpose-driven growth by appointing Carol Barsotti as its chief communications officer. A seasoned leader with deep roots in public service and sustainable agriculture, Barsotti is a familiar face within the organization’s leadership.
In addition to her new role overseeing public relations and government affairs, she continues to serve as president of fieldTRUE, a farm-box subscription business, and remains a key advocate for local food banks through her work with Raley’s Food For Families.
“We are fortunate to have Carol as an integral part of our executive leadership team,” says Keith Knopf, president and CEO of The Raley’s Cos. “She is purpose-driven, creative, versatile, impactful and proven at developing and leading high-performing teams. Carol is the epitome of a servant leader, always willing to step up to support the needs of the team, company and community.”
The Packer sat down with Barsotti to discuss how she plans to align policy and community engagement to create a lasting impact for the business and the people it serves.
The Packer: You are currently the president of fieldTRUE while serving as chief communications officer for The Raley’s Cos. How do these two roles inform one another? Is there a specific fieldTRUE philosophy you are bringing into the Raley’s corporate communications strategy?
Barsotti: The reason these roles fit together so naturally is because the vision is unified; fieldTRUE advances our purpose of changing the way the world eats, and my chief communications officer role advances that same purpose through communications, policy and community engagement.
The fieldTRUE philosophy of transparency, partnership and helping customers feel connected to where their food comes from absolutely shapes my broader communications strategy. My focus is aligning the work, removing barriers and making sure we’re creating meaningful impact in the communities we serve. This allows us to create more transparency in the food system, educate people about healthy food choices, operate sustainably and responsibly and give back.
Raley’s mission is to “change the way the world eats one plate at a time.” As chief communications officer, how do you translate that high-level vision into actionable government affairs and public relations?
For me, translating the mission into action means using communications, policy and community engagement as levers that all support the same goal. Our public relations efforts highlight the innovation and quality that help customers eat well. Our government affairs work focuses on strengthening the systems that make that possible. And our community impact work ensures we’re supporting the organizations on the front lines, especially our food bank partners, so more families have reliable access to nutritious food.
It’s one mission expressed through different, interconnected channels. Our ongoing mission to change the way the world eats, one plate at a time, is truly purpose-driven and helps to differentiate us in the marketplace. Our commitment to nutrition education and accessible, healthy choices extends throughout our enterprise and will continue to evolve. For example, our Raley’s family of brands has always led in this space through the removal of tobacco products, creation of Better for You check stands, development of an innovative Shelf Guide program and the continued evolution of our Raley’s Purely Made line of products.
Your appointment underscores a focus on aligning communications with community engagement. In the past, these were often separate departments. Why is it critical for the chief communications officer to also oversee community impact and Food For Families today?
Community impact is a core part of our strategy, and aligning it with communications ensures our actions and our voice reinforce each other. Bringing Food For Families, our food bank partnerships and our work in the broader community under the chief communications officer role creates consistency and authenticity, allowing us to strengthen partnerships, innovate how we support communities and tell a clearer story about our role in the regional food system.
Food For Families has a 40-year legacy. How are you evolving that program to move beyond traditional food drives toward systemic solutions for food insecurity?
As we honor a 40-year legacy, we’re proud that Food For Families is a strong, year-round, systemic support for hunger relief partners. Since 1986, Food For Families has donated more than $81 million and 70 million pounds of wholesome, nutritious food to our existing network of 12 Feeding America food bank partners and their subsequent network of more than 2,400 agencies.
We leverage our distribution network and buying power to deliver more nutritious food at lower cost, and The Raley’s Cos. covers all administration costs of the program, ensuring that every dollar goes back to benefit the community. And we work closely with food banks to keep innovating as community needs evolve. For example, last year we launched an infrastructure grant program to ensure our partners have the equipment and capacity they need to efficiently and effectively reach those most in need. It’s about understanding local needs and continually adapting our approach to maximize impact across the communities we serve.
You’ve moved from public policy to a family business and now to a C-suite role in a major retail corporation. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about brand authenticity during that journey?
Across public policy, a family business and now the C-suite, the lesson that’s stayed with me is that authenticity isn’t something you declare, it’s something you demonstrate. For me, that comes from a servant leadership mindset: staying grounded, listening carefully and showing up with humility and clarity.
At Raley’s, that aligns naturally with who we are. This company was built on service to customers, team members and communities, and our brand is strongest when our daily actions reflect the values we talk about. My role is to help ensure that connection is consistent: That how we operate, how we partner and how we show up in our communities genuinely reflects who we are.
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