Welcome Ellen
Our incredible Operations Assistant!
Please join us in welcoming Ellen to the Second Chance Foods Team!
We’re so excited to introduce you to Ellen. She started with Second Chance Foods as our Operations Assistant in mid-June, and we’re so grateful for the energy and passion she brings to this role. Ellen spends her days shuffling food all around town, making so much of our work possible. As the Operations Assistant, Ellen ensures we have someone pick up food from our regular partners along with additional donations that pop up every week. She also helps sort donations, connect food and meals with our hunger relief partners, and much more!
Ellen comes to us after taking a break from her career in Graphic Design due to COVID. It’s very different work, but she enjoys the variety of running operations and transporting food. Ellen especially loves this job because it gets her out from behind a desk while also helping others. In addition, she still finds ways to use her creative brain, both with Second Chance Foods and cooking at home to feed her own family of three 12-year-old triplets and her husband!
"Second Chance Foods is a fantastic organization. The entire process continues to amaze me. From harvesting the produce, the donations we receive, what we create from those items, and the number of volunteers that help out each day. I am so proud to be part of a team that nourishes the world and saves the planet!" -Ellen
More About Ellen!
I grew up in a household where food was precious and never wasted. My father was the only one working to support our family. To help feed all six of us we utilized WIC and my mom’s garden filled with fresh vegetables. I think that’s why I hate wasting food and love creating a way to use food that otherwise would have been discarded.
I’ve also been drawn to cooking since I was a child. It started with my first Home-Ec class in school and has continued through today! I love taking leftovers and various things I find in the kitchen and turning them into a delicious meal – just like Second Chance Foods!
I try to instill that same appreciation at home with our children. For example, I made their baby food from scratch when they were kids. The value of eating healthy is important to me, but with three infants, it was also necessary to find the most cost-efficient way to feed our family.
Second Chance Foods is a fantastic organization. The entire process continues to amaze me. From harvesting the produce, the donations we receive, what we create from those items, and the number of volunteers that help out each day. I am proud to be part of a team that nourishes the world and saves the planet!
I have lived in Putnam County since 1985 and in Kent, NY, since 2002. My husband and I have 12-year-old triplets who keep us busy with sports and social activities. We have raised them to be an active part of society and have encouraged volunteering since they were 4 years old. As a result, they know how important it is to give back. And they love the mission of Second Chance Foods and are proud that I am part of this unbelievable organization.
I enjoy working out and eating healthy. Which is another reason I am so enamored with the mission of Second Chance Foods.
Honestly, all of them! If I had to pick, it’d be either Asparagus or Artichokes. I think I’m drawn to Artichokes because they remind me of the holidays. They’re a lot of work to prepare (we stuff them with breadcrumbs, cheese, capers, etc.), but that makes them special.
Art. Graphic Design. Ice Hockey. Lacrosse. Figure Skating. Music. Theater. Creating good sleep habits for infants. : )
