Welcome to Food Connects’ series highlighting the amazing essential workers in our community who work hard every day to keep our children fed. Read on to learn more!

Mary Beth Peterson

Mary Beth Peterson is a paraeducator in Sarah Cassidy’s kindergarten class at Putney Central School. Last spring during the school closure she became one of several key staff members involved in keeping the meal program going.

Sheila Humphreys (SH): How has your work changed due to COVID-19?

Mary Best Peterson (MP): My work has changed quite a bit, because of the age group that I teach. It's really difficult for parents trying to juggle everything. With parents working and getting their kids to do their packets at home if I was going to try to do something on Zoom it would require parent support and take them away from work, and Sarah, our kindergarten teacher, was already doing that. So I didn't have much opportunity to engage with students other than to be at the Zoom meetings with Sarah and the entire class. I am a person who needs structures and goals and whatnot in my life. Mr. Pelletier, our principal, put out an email to staff asking anybody who had the time to help out our food service folks. I started riding the bus and delivering food to students, and then I saw the need for helping with preparing the food, bagging, and that sort of thing, so I started doing that. This was at the end of March. I've been doing it since then, and it's been very rewarding. The families are extremely grateful, which feels really good. 

SH:  What has been keeping you going during these unusual times?

MP: A large part of what has been keeping me going is having the opportunity to have Zoom meetings with our kids. That sort of normalizes a little bit of the day and a little bit of time. Seeing their faces and seeing their excitement has been really good. Frankly, helping out in the kitchen and delivering the food has really kept me personally going. I wouldn't have a whole lot of stuff to do if it weren't for that. It's been very rewarding. I'm glad I had this opportunity.

SH: What has been your biggest challenge?

MP: The professional challenge in the beginning of all of this was the feeling of uselessness. I wanted to do whatever I could to support Sarah and the kids. It became very evident early on that that was going to be challenging given the age group of the children. Teachers were trying to figure out, “how do I do this long-distance learning?” I was feeling rather useless, and that is really hard for me. I'm a person who really likes to have a purpose and things to do. I was a registered nurse for 41 years before I started working in the school, so I've still got that “go go go” thing. Like all of us, the adjustment to being at home, the adjustment to having no control, the adjustment to not knowing what really is going to happen in the early stages was hard. And the ongoing uncertainty even now... I'm much more adjusted now, obviously, but the uncertainty about what the fall is going to bring and the uncertainty of what's going to happen to our families being fed over the summer is a huge concern for me. This is a small community and you really get to know pretty much all of the children and families that we're working with. So it’s very distressing not knowing what is going to happen.

SH: How can the community support you and the food service program?

MP: Putney is a very supportive community. People have been supportive. We have a Food for Kids program and the Food for Kids program has been augmenting food for those families who have difficulty filling their pantries. I'm sure that if there is something more that the community can do, if the school was not able to do the food stuff, the community would rise to the occasion because they always do.

SH: What advice would you give to someone who's interested in working in school food service now that you've got a lens on the inner workings of the school kitchen?

MP: If you are interested, I have found it to be very, very rewarding because you are doing something for people that you care about. Food is a really important part of many cultures and an important part of family life in our culture three times a day, and in regular times we are with the kids for breakfast and lunch at school. Depending upon the group of people you're working with it, it could be different, but my situation has been very rewarding. I really have enjoyed working with the people that I'm working with, and that's a real plus.

SH: Has your perspective on food service changed since you've been working in the kitchen? 

MP: The quality of the food and the personalization that our food service staff put into what they do is phenomenal. The quality of the food is WOW, I can't believe it! The diversity and the kid-friendly food, it's quality stuff. They're very impressive. The number of meals that they have put out over the last three months is phenomenal.

SH: What brings you joy?

MP: What brings me joy is working with kindergarten kids. As I said, I'm a retired nurse, which I enjoyed. It was very satisfying, and I learned lots of stuff over my 41 years. But I have to say, working with kindergarten children has brought me more joy. I wake up in the morning and think to myself, "I get to go to work today!" They're just so open and they're not wrecked by our society at this point. It's so fulfilling, it's just so wonderful!

SH: What are you grateful for?

MP: I am grateful for the community that I live in. I am grateful for the fact that because I'm semi-retired things have been financially predictable for us. I have an amazing family. I'm very grateful for what I have in my life, not just monetarily but for the people and the relationships, and the community that I live in.

SH: Anything else that you would like to share?

MP: I love the yogurt that we buy from Food Connects, with homemade granola on top of it. The granola is made here at school. I didn't know you could make granola! It's amazing. All the things they make in our kitchen just blow my mind!