The recipe for Nana's Blueberry Muffins, one of her first posts and the first public airing of a treasured family recipe, is still on the site. So is a pull-down menu labeled Food Policy with sections devoted to sustainability, farmers' markets and school nutrition programs that speak to some the most highly charged nutritional issues facing individuals, families and social systems concerned with the politics of food, Hyland, who served on the NCUA's board from 2005 to 2012, said.

"The food blog transmogrified into a different purpose," she explained. "I originally wanted to share recipes, but it was also a great way to learn about the subject matter by writing about it. It has shifted to linking the finance piece to food."

It was during the sabbatical period after Hyland left the NCUA board in Oct. 2012 that Hyland Highway and the seeds of its social mission were planted. That December, she was elected to the board of United Community Ministries, an Alexandria, Va., a nonprofit she had been financially supporting that serves the needs of local Hispanic and African-American community members.

"We had just redone UCM's food pantry to make it self-selecting so clients could choose the food they wanted rather than simply being handed a bag of groceries," Hyland said. "I found that the food offered was not very healthy, so I took it upon myself to educate donors about healthy food and what clients really needed."

Hyland helped organize "Chew on This," a public event that brought together a well-known local chef, nutritionist and food bank executive. The forum discussed everything from nutrition to food preparation to broadening food availability. It also opened Hyland's eyes to the larger issues surrounding food.

"That got me running, and I found I had more and more questions," Hyland said. "I was on sabbatical, so I had the time and intellectual energy to dig even deeper into this issue."

She began building a network, linking UCM to the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, located on the grounds of Alexandria's Woodlawn Estate and dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable food system in the Washington D.C. metro area. UCM began receiving the more healthy leftovers from Arcadia's mobile markets as donations to its food pantry. It was then that Hyland's credit union instincts kicked in.

"I wondered how sustainable farmers get financing for their operations," Hyland said. "Credit unions should be offering memberships and financing to the farm-to-fork community and linking up with unlikely partners that have similar social missions."

Fast-forward to her current role at NCUF and its goal of helping credit unions retain their social conscience and sense of mission in an increasingly competitive world. What Hyland said she learned during her sabbatical rings true to NCUF's purpose, not by reliving the past but in the way it repositions credit unions' role in helping meet the social, economic and community needs of the future.

"At NCUF, we're trying to encourage credit unions to look for opportunities to contribute to the financial well-being of their communities by becoming part of their strategic architecture," Hyland said. "It's important to link the passion for financial literacy to an understanding of food and become a trusted partner in developing the community's overall wellbeing."

Read more: Get Hyland's blueberry muffin recipe …

Hyland herself continues to operate in both directions, blending her love of food with her sense of social contribution. Although not a trained chef, she draws on her mother's Puerto Rican heritage and her father's Lithuanian-Scotch-Irish background to create a rich culinary blend that replicates for her personally what she is trying to achieve socially through her support of sustainable agriculture and social programs.

"I can't sing, but I like to cook," Hyland said. "It gives me joy to feed people and it's the way I show affection for friends and family."

Heritage, of course, comes into play.

Nana's Blueberry Muffins (recipe at left) are based on her Lithuanian paternal grandmother's recipe. Hyland's website also features Peas Be with You, a sweet-pea flan.

"We make our own fresh strawberry jam," Hyland said. "My husband Chris (Revere) tasted it and said that it was really 'kick-ass.' We now produce Kick-ass Jam every summer."

As important and as much fun as food is for Hyland and her family, she said she understands clearly its ramifications as a social and economic issue. World population experts predict that in the next 10 to 15 years, more than nine billion people will crowd the planet. Food scarcity in developing countries and food deserts throughout urban America already point to critical food shortage issues.

Hyland said she believes food policies are everyone's business. Credit unions' social mission and unique ability to reach and serve different market segments makes them ideal members to participate meaningfully in the dialogue needed to affect critical social change, she said.

"Food is the obvious choice in bringing people together," Hyland said. "It's a great cornerstone on which to build community and address socioeconomic issues."