Stepping out of the kitchen, our head Chef Tom Griffiths steers his excited team of chefs and volunteers into the middle of our pilot plant here at world headquarters in Camden, N.J. to surprise 30 employees with a food pop-up as they break for lunch. The effort is led by Roots, our employee resource group, whose mission is to bring our Real Food purpose to life for our employees. “We have delicious tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and bacon and amazing BLTs (bacon lettuce tomato)—it’s a grassroots effort to celebrate the heritage of John Dorrance with our Real Food agenda. Everything’s local, everything’s in season and everything’s delicious,” says Chef Tom.
Supply Chain Analyst David Rivera, who co-chairs the Roots employee group, feels strongly that our employees know the real food message isn’t just an external one, but an internal one.
“Employees are being inspired and encouraged to talk about what real food is, what does it mean to people, how are people interacting with real food and bring up that conversation internally and have events like this,” says David.
As Chef Tom’s crew wraps up, one operator in the plant’s break room carries a full smile and an empty plate. “We feel special today. Very well treated. Keep coming every today!”
More pop-ups are planned for our employees in August, but when we ask Chef Tom where and when they would be happening, he lets out a sly smile and says, “You’ll have to wait and see!”