On February 8th, our Food Hub Institutional Sales Associate, Tom Brewton, visited the Vermont Statehouse to support Farm to School Awareness Day. He testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Agriculture, Food Resilience, and Forestry Committee, requesting support for the Farm to School and Early Childhood Program and the Local Foods Incentive Grant.
Food Connects is excited to welcome Tom Brewton to the Food Hub team as Food Connects’ first Local Food Institutional Sales Associate. In this new position, Tom will work to help Food Connects better serve institutions in our area—including K-12 schools, colleges, universities, and healthcare facilities—in their goals to increase purchasing of local and regional foods.
Tom joined the Food Connects team in mid-January and previously worked at the largest grocery wholesaler in the U.S, C&S Wholesale Grocers. Tom is excited to make the shift to focus on New England’s regional food system.
What interested you most about Food Connects and why are you excited to start working here?
What interested me most about Food Connects is its strong and growing presence as a key player in the supply chain of New England’s local food system. I am excited to start working at Food Connects to leverage my corporate sales experience and passion for philanthropy and community service to drive sustained growth and distribution of the Food Hub.
Why is the local food movement important to you?
In my role as the Local Food Institutional Sales Associate, I will have the opportunity to directly impact the health and wellbeing of our youth by increasing the distribution of New England’s local produce into our schools. I grew up in inner-city Pittsburgh, PA, and attended an underfunded public high school. While I was fortunate to come from a stable household, I understood that some of my peers didn’t have the means to access healthy foods. My background is what will fuel me to work hard in contributing to a more just food system.
What do you see for the future of Food Connects and what you will do here?
I am eager to first access the wealth of knowledge from my colleagues in regards to our existing customer relationships and then work with them to sell the mission and services of the Food Hub to new customers. It’s exciting to join Food Connects during a season of significant growth. I’m looking forward to doing my part in enabling Food Connects to achieve its sales targets! As Food Connects continues to expand its customer base, I am looking forward to strategizing with my colleagues on ways to sustain its growth while living with our values as an organization.
How will your other food industry experience impact your work at Food Connects?
Previous to Food Connects, I worked for the largest wholesale grocery company in the United States, C&S Wholesale Grocers, where I managed relationships with more than 100 manufacturers. I look forward to using my technical and interpersonal skills I learned in my previous role to promote the Food Hub.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I enjoy making pottery and hope to be selling my work in the near future! I also enjoy all things outdoors including cliff jumping, hiking, camping, and skiing. Once a vaccine is publicly distributed, I look forward to participating in local theatre again!
What is your favorite or least favorite food?
It’s hard to pick, but one of my favorite foods is tacos from Three Stones.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what book would you bring with you?
The entire Harry Potter series.
What’s the best single day on the calendar?
The day I got married to my beautiful, talented wife, Carissa, July 21st.