Amanda & Marlon Say Co-Creators & Co-Editors
Joy And Hope. By Marlon Gordon
Served Digizine
2020 has been a difficult year for all but I’m a firm believer that “Adversity Brings Growth” . A lot of you who know me may say that I’m forever the optimist and you’re right. I am, because I choose to be. And I’m going to show you the light that I saw in the darkness that is the year 2020. I’m not here to talk about all the bad things that happened in COVID’s wake.We all know about the deaths, the loss of jobs, the emotional and mental hardships, the solitude, the depression, and too many other negatives to list here. I want to talk about the positives. How about we start with all of the child nutrition professionals who were put on a pedestal for their response to the pandemic? You all have been some of the hardest working, unwavering, loving leaders throughout the pandemic. Excuse me, you all have ALWAYS been hard working, unwavering, and loving leaders. Now people across the country know this due to the recognition which you earned during the COVID crisis. For goodness sake, even TIME Magazine recognized you on its cover (shout out to my friends at Dallas ISD). It is high time people put respect on your names! Along with the pedestal, and probably more importantly, I feel like there is a new sense of confidence buzzing throughout the ranks of operators. Programs realized they can survive the worse and some arguably thrived. Sometimes this confidence is silent,
but let it be known that not even a pandemic can stop this industry from feeding children. Regardless of rain or shine, staff or not, you all found a way to feed our future. And let’s not forget about all the vendors out there who found ways to support the operators during this time of need! It is much appreciated. Innovation... one of my favorite words. The pandemic allowed us to innovate, as it forced us to evolve. Never before have I seen so many changes in our industry happen so rapidly. IW foods became more abundant and higher quality. Policies and procedures that were out-dated began to change. We all started to understand and rely on technology more because of the efficiencies it can provide. As an example Indiana SNA actually held a fully virtual training on how to leverage technology and it was a huge success. In my opinion when it comes to innovation and technology, child nutrition programs as a whole were 20 years behind corporate America in 2019. Now I would say we’re only 15 years behind. That is progress, folks! It’s true what they say about hindsight, it really is 20/20. And
what I realized looking back is 2020 had some serious positives. During the past year I grew personally because of all of the travel restrictions and quarantine. Being forced to stay home allowed me to spend some much needed time with my wife and children (I’m somewhat of a workaholic). I was also blessed with the opportunity to grow professionally because I didn’t focus on the negatives. Instead I sought to provide positive growth opportunities to those in need. Through hard work and grit my team evolved, we brought forth innovative ideas like First Taste TV™, From the Show Floor with New York SNA , Served Digizine™ and more. If I hadn’t been met with adversity, I wouldn’t have evolved professionally or personally to the next level of myself and more importantly, neither would have School Nutrition. It’s like Erv Watson said in his article titled “Growth Through Adversity”, and I’m going to paraphrase. “It is the problems and adversities that the people we admire faced that propelled and prepared them to be the people you know them to be.” Who are you going to be in 2021? You all already have my admiration.
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Teamwork.
| Amanda@NxtGenNetwork.com | Co-Creator Co-Editor Amanda Venezia
| Marlon@NxtGenNetwork.com | Co-Creator Co-Editor Marlon Gordon
| Melissa@NxtGenNetwork.com | Co-Creator Creative Director MelissaMayer
| Michael@NxtGenNetwork.com | Executive Editor Michael Mang
| Breanna@NxtGenNetwork.com | Assistant Editor Breanna Gustafson
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Stacy Cardinale | Chef Sharon Schaefer | Kaylee Myers & Callie Neumann EDITION CONTRIBUTORS: Stefanie Dove, Erv Watson, Breanna Gustafson, Stefanie Gianini, Leslene Gordon, Joe Pettit, Scott Reitano
& ServedDigizine.com NxtGenNetwork.com Contact: Articles & News: info@ServedDigizine.com Ads: sales@ServedDigizine.com Parent Company: info@NxtGenNetwork.com
Served Digizine is a publication of First Taste TV and NxtGen Network. Served Digizine is releasedmonthly for a total of 12 issues annually. This publication is free of charge to our subscribers and can be opted-out at anytime. Copyright 2020 Served Digizine, First Taste TV, and NxtGen Network. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Opinions and advertisements in themagazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent management views. The digizine is not responsible for unsolicitedmanuscripts and photographs, or any errors or omissions that might occur.
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