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Manna Food Center has named Kim Damion as its new executive director after a three-month search.

Damion, 46, had been Manna's director of development for the past 18 months. When Amy Ginsburg, the previous director, left in March, the search was on for her replacement.

"It was a very lengthy interview process," Damion said. "Probably the most diligent process of getting a job I've ever had to go through."

The board of directors announced last week it had selected Damion, whose fundraising efforts kept many county residents fed during a time when demand at the food bank was rising quickly. Damion was an obvious choice, board chair Marla Caplon said.

"She's absolutely fabulous," Caplon said.

Damion, who lives in Olney with her husband and two children, said last year the center saw a 45 percent increase in the number of people coming in for help.

At the same time, Damion raised about $1.7 million for the Gaithersburg-based nonprofit organization as its director of development. She did this by increasing Manna's presence on the Internet and at community events, increasing the number of private donors and securing a $150,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente.

"I enjoyed it, but it was challenging," she said. "I had to be responsive to get more funds as well as food."

That money almost doubled Manna's budget, she said.

The original budget of $800,000 was increased to $1.7 million as the year went on because of costs associated with moving to a new warehouse location.

Damion was responsible for all fundraising, and had to raise additional money as the budget increased, she said.

Last year the organization supplied 3 million pounds of food to 35,900 families, or 103,000 individuals.

About 94 cents of every dollar donated goes toward food, Manna's website says, and most of the organization's funding comes from individual donations.

So far in fiscal 2010 which began July 1, the food bank has seen a small increase in need over last year, Damion said.

That does not mean the hard work is over.

"My goal is to continue to identify and remove the barriers that make access to food assistance challenging for residents in need," she said, adding that she would run Manna based on her core values — service, integrity, respect, excellence, accountability and teamwork.

Before entering the nonprofit sector, Damion served as the corporate director of marketing for the Carl M. Freeman Companies, and in community outreach and marketing for Montgomery General Hospital.

She studied business economics at Eastern Connecticut State University and for the past seven years has helped coordinate activities for the Olney Boys and Girls Clubs recreational soccer program.