“Food is a universal language. If we can connect with each other and help each other in that way, it just brings us all together,” offers Ryan Vargochik when asked why he supports Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Ryan and his wife, Amanda, have been Food Shuttle donors for the last eight years. Amanda Vargochik is Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of SinnovaTek, a local food technology provider that focuses on nutrient retention. “We focus on nutrition but also on food waste—making sure more of our food gets to consumers,” explains Amanda. In the last year, SinnovaTek has grown from just 8 team members to 35. Amanda says it’s been a “wild ride” as the company works toward opening an expansion facility in Middlesex at the end of this year, increasing their capacity fourfold.
Through a year of robust growth and social distension, the Vargochiks and SinnovaTek have remained steadfast in their support of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Whether it’s packing at the Child Food Hub in Durham, or picking tomatoes at the Food Shuttle Farm, Amanda says that it is the Food Shuttle’s “holistic approach to solving food issues” that resonates with her and Ryan. The Vargochiks have been sustaining monthly donors of the Food Shuttle since 2013.
“From a personal standpoint, food has been something that has connected Amanda and I,” says Ryan. “It’s something that we believe is more than just nourishment for our bodies. It’s really about making us who we are, it’s defining our culture, it’s giving us the ability to connect with others. And to find an organization that is focused on that aspect in the Food Shuttle--it just felt like it aligned with where we wanted to put our money and our resources.”
Amanda points out that her fellow teammates at SinnovaTek also believe fully in the mission of the Food Shuttle. “A lot of people in our organization have spouses who are teachers who have kids in their classes who have benefited from programs like BackPack Buddies, so they’ve seen the work of the Food Shuttle from that angle, too, as an end product. It’s a very ‘mission forward’ kind of thing.”
Amanda’s dream is to find unique ways for SinnovaTek and the Food Shuttle to partner, both utilizing their missions and core competencies toward a shared vision of a hunger free community. This could be done through processing foods that the Food Shuttle has in excess or making a product that is specifically meant to address diabetes in some of the populations the Food Shuttle serves. “I’d like to be able to combine efforts to have a more specific impact that can further our technologies but also addresses a need in our community.” Exploration to this end is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Ryan and Amanda continue supporting the Food Shuttle as donors and volunteers, and their impact reaches far and wide. Ryan, a demo engineer at WalkMe, concludes, “Every day a lot of people are so fortunate to have access to food, and so many people don’t. Every time you eat, remember where your food came from. It’s important to remember that some of the best memories we have are connected to food. Everyone deserves that. It’s important to donate to an organization that is really helping to right that for the benefit of many.”
Ryan, Miles, and Amanda Vargochik