How Nancy Brumbaugh Of Second Harvest Food Bank Of Central Florida Is Helping To Address The Growing Challenge Of Food Insecurity
You are your own worst critic. Give yourself grace. You don’t need to be the best at everything. Build a team of individuals that excel at things you do not.
In many parts of the United States, there is a crisis of people having limited reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. As prices rise, this problem will likely become more acute. How can this problem be solved? Who are the leaders helping to address this crisis?
In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to address the increasing problem of food insecurity who can share the initiatives they are leading to address and solve this problem.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy Brumbaugh.
Nancy Brumbaugh is the Vice President of Food Service for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. She manages approximately 70 employees, including a team of Chef Instructors that oversee the successful Culinary Training Program. This job placement and training initiative has helped more than 400 men and women become self-sufficient by giving them opportunities to launch meaningful careers in the food industry.
Nancy has also developed and enhanced three Social Enterprises that support the department. Mercy Kitchen, a satellite production facility producing more than 122,000 meals for the Summer Food Service Program and 4.73 million meals a year for disaster relief, CCFP, private schools and AMP customers; Catering for Good, a full-service catering company; and A Spoon Full of Hope, a retail product line that features local honey, soup and cookies.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
As a scholarship student in college, I majored in physics, because I loved to solve challenging problems.
That adaptability served me well when I left school and began working in the food service industry as a general manager for a casual dining restaurant. Next, I joined the management team at a national grocery chain. When the chain moved out of the Florida market, I had the opportunity to launch a new career in child nutrition.
I started my position as a Food and Nutrition Manager for Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), overseeing a central kitchen servicing multiple schools in the county. I loved my work with OCPS and enjoyed the impact the food service profession had on the student population. I was given the opportunity to serve the community in an even bigger way when Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida was looking for a Food Service Director — and I’ve never looked back since.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One morning, I was called to the lobby at Second Harvest to speak with a representative from the Red Cross. She wanted to introduce me to a single mother who had recently escaped an abusive relationship with her children. However, they had nowhere to go after they left, and became homeless. Even more heartbreaking, the family later lost their car — which contained everything they owned — in a vehicle fire.
I knew that I had to help the family get back on their feet — so I invited the mother to enroll in our Culinary Training Program. She started the very next day! Sixteen weeks later, she graduated with honors, obtained stable housing, and found employment. Hers is just one of countless success stories I’ve had the privilege to hear from our 400 graduates. Their courage and tenacity in overcoming trauma and adversity are what inspire me to keep serving others.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
Definitely! The tipping point came when I was working at Orange County Public Schools.
On a Monday morning, during the school’s breakfast service, two boys began fighting over a package of pancakes. Once we got them separated, I learned that they were brothers. The reason they were fighting over food was because they hadn’t eaten since Friday’s school lunch.
After spending my entire career in food service, I never dreamed that there were children who didn’t have access to food over the weekend. It shook me to my core. From then on, I knew I wanted to be part of the solution.
The experience fueled my passion for finding creative ways to make sure children always have access to food. I joined the School Nutrition Association, where I advocated for students in Orange County and provided meals through the summer food service program. Eventually that passion led me to Second Harvest Food Bank.
That Monday, I got two meals to those hungry brothers. Now, I lead a team of employees who serve over 25,000 meals a day — and who, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, distributed over 6 million meals in 18 months.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
In high school, I had wonderful coaches who encouraged me to stay in sports as a path to college. Even though I wasn’t the fastest, the tallest or the best, they knew I had heart and wasn’t afraid to work hard to achieve my goals. Later, when I majored in physics in college, my guidance counselor saw my knack for leadership and encouraged me to minor in business.
Their advice and support helped me become the leader I am today. Now, the success of our Culinary Training Program and its graduates inspires me to cast a wider net, keep our program growing, and find folks who just need a little help to transform their lives.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Team Building is a must in my line of work — and that starts with self-awareness in knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. I believe I have built a strong team by providing each person with a positive and nurturing environment that has allowed them to grow in their professional development — and they can jump in wherever help is needed because they’re all cross-trained.
- The impact of “investing in your team” is clearest in times of crisis — like when we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than two days after the nationwide shut-down was announced, our teams had developed a menu for producing a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches for the children, seniors and veterans that might not have access to food or transportation. Our full-service catering team — including our general manager, sales team, chefs, and servers — immediately “switched hats” and helped prepare, pack and distribute boxes to remote mobile home parks, community associations and churches. Together, we produced more than 10,000 boxes of fresh meals weekly at the height of the pandemic.
- Courage plays a big role, too. Managing complexities and solving problems can only be done when you have the courage to make tough decisions and have hard conversations.
- During the pandemic, plenty of things were put on hold — but our team was determined not to let the Culinary Training Program be one of them. While teaching someone to cook through a computer screen was a new challenge for everyone, we secured funding for each student to use a laptop so they could keep up with the curriculum, attend Zoom classes, and watch YouTube “how to” videos that our chefs filmed. Every Monday, the students also picked up a weekly box of food supplies and the tools they needed to prepare the recipes in their home kitchens.
- Creativity is essential to strategic planning — and, fortunately, it’s a talent that comes naturally to me. I’ve always enjoyed looking at things from a fresh perspective and breaking away from traditional ways of thinking to find new solutions.
- Recently, Second Harvest needed an effective way to deliver hot food to multiple stops during the summer, and traditional insulation was not working. So, we broadened our search — and eventually discovered a local courier service that could design an entirely new system to our specifications. We now have a mobile trailer that houses a walk-in cooler to keep cold food cold, and a full size warmer to keep the hot food hot. Thanks to this breakthrough, we’ve been able to supply children with hot food during school breaks, as well as deliver meals to early childcare facilities and after-school supper programs.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life quote is, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’ve spent my entire career making sure that people can enjoy their food, whether that’s through a great dining experience at a restaurant or access to groceries, warm meals, or a school lunch.
My current job is a labor of love. I enjoy every day that I can fight food insecurity and transform lives in our community. At the end of the work day, my first thought is, “Where did the day go?” Time flies when you love what you do, and it also gives you a great feeling of purpose.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Can you describe to our readers how your work is helping to address the challenge of food insecurity?
I oversee workforce training at Second Harvest Food Bank through the Culinary Training Program. It provides qualified, at-risk and economically disadvantaged adults with the culinary and life skills training needed to pursue a sustainable career in the food industry at no charge to the student.
As they advance in the program, students gain valuable “hands-on” experience in our production kitchen, assisting in contract meal prep and catered events with our team of award-winning chefs. The curriculum covers food safety and sanitation, knife skills, and the basic culinary foundations needed to successfully obtain an entry-level position in any food service establishment across the country.
The life skills component of our program prepares students for work-readiness, focusing on the importance of appropriate work behavior, resumes and interviewing techniques, as well as household budgeting, stress management, and time management. Our job placement assistance program helps guide students on the path to employment as they approach graduation.
After the program, many graduates launch their own businesses or enter food-service management — and they’re proud to hire our recent graduates as staff. Other graduates have pursued careers with 5-star resorts and prestigious restaurants in Orlando.
Additionally, Second Harvest’s Mercy Kitchen or production team produces millions of hot meals a year which are delivered to after-school programs, daycare centers and summer food sites to ensure young children have access to nutritious food year-round — not only during school, but over weekends and breaks, too.
Can you share something about your work that makes you most proud? Is there a particular story or incident that you found most uplifting?
I am so proud to be part of the team fighting hunger at Second Harvest. It is a privilege to work alongside a group of people with such flexibility and commitment.
Our culinary training staff went to virtual learning before we even knew what it looked like, to keep their promise of a culinary education to our students. We graduated 43 students through our hybrid platform, forever changing the trajectory of their lives. Our catering and production team joined forces and produced over 6 million meals to help feed the children, seniors, and veterans with limited food access during the pandemic.
I am so fortunate to have many uplifting stories of success with our culinary training program. Last week, I heard from two of our graduates, one just completed a manager-in-training program and will be running her own kitchen and the other has been promoted to a leadership position with another local non-profit. These are life changers for these graduates and their families.
In your opinion, what should other business and civic leaders do to further address these problems? Can you please share a few things that can be done to further address the problem of food insecurity?
One of the most important things that business leaders can do is to provide opportunity to people who have struggled throughout the pandemic — and for those who were struggling before the pandemic began. We work closely with many employers in the Orlando area, and they continue to rave about the well-trained culinary students that have come out of Second Harvest Food Bank’s training program. The jobs have transformed the lives of hundreds of families in Central Florida.
Are there other leaders or organizations who have done good work to address the challenge of food scarcity? Can you tell us what they have done? What specifically impresses you about their work? Perhaps we can reach out to them to include them in this series.
There are plenty of examples in the Feeding America network! I’m most impressed with those organizations who, like Second Harvest, recognize the importance of “shortening the line” of people who need help. By addressing one of the root causes of hunger, we create a powerful chance for self-sufficiency and success.
If you had the power to influence legislation, are there laws that you would like to see introduced that might help you in your work?
We need to create a groundswell of understanding and support for families facing hunger. For decades, advocates and food banks have faced a constant struggle against proposed budget cuts for government SNAP assistance. But in reality, SNAP is one of the most cost-effective programs for helping people in need. Even compared to food banks, it provides an excellent return on investment, boosting the economy and getting help to the people who need it. Instead of slashing a system that is proven to work, we need to invest in it even more.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Don’t lose sleep over small things. Concentrate on the big picture, and the smaller details will work themselves out.
- You are your own worst critic. Give yourself grace. You don’t need to be the best at everything. Build a team of individuals that excel at things you do not.
- Find your employees’ strengths and develop them. Make sure you and your teams are always learning and developing. We designed our production kitchen with tiers so that entry-level team members can advance to higher paying tiers by offering Serve Safe training, knife skills, culinary classes, catering experience back-and front-of-house and professional development for leadership.
- Start each day with a positive mental attitude. Our culture at Second Harvest is second to none and it plays a key role in our success. The culture is modern, forward-thinking, and relaxed. People feel comfortable sharing their opinions without fear of being shot down. We treat each other like family, and that instills trust, creativity, and a sense of community.
- Do not be afraid to ask for help. Be confident in your abilities, but don’t be afraid to ask for help from experts in their field.
- Cross-train your employees. This was so important during the pandemic. We have chefs in production that can teach culinary training in addition to running catering events, if needed. During slower catering months, our catering team works in our production facility — ensuring year-round, full-time employment for all staff members and increasing efficiency across all departments.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to inspire a movement of healthy eating habits — to create a community where good nutrition is both widely understood and accessible. Having access to nutrient-rich food in all communities would produce better outcomes for health, education, and behavior.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-).
I would love to sit down with Harris Rosen, an hotelier, humanitarian, and hospitality legend. I would like to hear more about his journey and where he sees the future of the hospitality industry in Central Florida going. His advice and guidance that could help make our social enterprises more successful would be more than appreciated!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit FeedHopeNow.org to get student updates, book a catering event, sign up to volunteer, or donate. And visit ASpoonFullofHope.org to purchase honey, soup, or cookies from our retail product line.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much, and we wish you only continued success.
How Nancy Brumbaugh Of Second Harvest Food Bank Of Central Florida Is Helping To Address The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.