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!
Nancy Gagnon
“I already had great respect for our kitchen staff and for the quality of meals that they provide for our students. Being in there and watching the day in day out work that they do, my respect and admiration rose greatly.”
Nancy Gagnon is the office clerk at Putney Central School. When schools closed last March, her work changed dramatically, and she played an essential role in helping get food to students during the school closures. At the end of the 2020 school year, we sat down to learn more about her work feeding students in our community.
Sheila Humphreys (SH): How has your work changed due to COVID-19?
Nancy Gagnon (NG): When school closed in March, I was wondering what kind of role I would have, if any, since I work in the office part-time. In conversations with Steve Hed, our Food Service Director, it became apparent that I could get involved by working with our meal program. There was an opportunity for me to come in and do some prep work. The timing was somewhat flexible—I could come in for a few hours in the morning, which was good for my schedule. And I could work fairly independently—getting food ready for the next day or sometimes that day, or putting food in bags and helping get the meals out the door, and also often prepping food for the next day or even the day after. Before the pandemic, I worked in the office, and I was never involved in the kitchen except communication support, which we do in the office with everybody in the building.
SH: That's an interesting perspective. How has your thinking changed now that you're working in the kitchen?
NG: I already had great respect for our kitchen staff and for the quality of meals that they provide for our students. Being in there and watching the day in day out work that they do, my respect and admiration rose greatly. They do a lot of incredible planning. They are always thinking ahead, and they are really engaged with nutrition and figuring out the best ways to provide fresh, nutritious food to our students. It's a whole system of a lot of hard work, and it's been fun to be a little part of that.
SH: What is keeping you going during these unusual times?
NG: I've been really happy to be able to stay connected to school and stay connected to our school community. I'm really grateful for this little job working in the kitchen every day for an hour or two. It’s been really important and positive for me to have a daily routine of coming to school and connecting with a few people that I've worked with all through all year. I’m really happy to have had this opportunity. I really see it as that, an opportunity, and I’m really happy to be part of this getting these meals out to kids and families.
SH: What has been your biggest challenge during this time?
NG: The uncertainty of the future. For example, not having the answers to lots of questions about how life will be in the future. In particular, what will my job be like, in the fall? Will I have a job? And what will it be like, if I do have one?
SH: How can the community support you and other food service workers during this time?
NG: One of the biggest things the community is doing is showing appreciation for the effort that this whole team of people have provided. We've been getting some feedback from families that Steve has shared with us, and it buoys you and makes you really feel like your efforts are being appreciated. There’s a back and forth, connecting with families and knowing that they're happy with the food they're getting, and you feel happy that you're doing it.
SH: What brings you joy?
NG: Being outside brings me joy. In my personal life, I like cooking. I like baking and making bread. I like reading and being with my children.
SH: What are you grateful for?
NG: I'm grateful for my school community. I'm grateful for my family. And I'm grateful for living in Putney and in Vermont.
SH: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in working in school foodservice?
NG: I would have that person ask themselves if they are a really hard worker. Because I think it's hard work. And I think in order to do it and do it well, you need to be a hard worker, and you need to be dedicated.