Dive into Kaitlyn's journey at FedUp Foods and see how thoughtful leadership and a tight-knit community has impacted her professional journey and personal growth. From a temp worker hired during COVID to the Second Shift Packaging and Sanitation Manager, Kaitlyn's story showcases the growth and support offered at FedUp Foods.
What do you love about FedUp Foods?
KC: What I love most about working at Fed Up Foods is the leadership. We have a really thoughtful leadership team who's genuinely interested in making sure that everyone here is succeeding both professionally and personally.
This is by far the best job I've ever had. This is the only place where I feel like I've ever been supported through education, inside and outside of work. There's always been a really huge emphasis on work-life balance, which is really important to me too. That's a common thing I've been hearing here. This is like one of the first jobs for a lot of people where you don’t feel like a number and just punching in and punching out. [At FedUp Foods] It's like a part of a team and community.
You mentioned leadership, what's the best part of the leadership team?
KC: You know, I came from a hospitality background, and I was a little bit nervous to come into this type of environment (manufacturing) when I first got hired. I was afraid I was gonna miss the community. But we have a very tight-knit community here, and I think that everyone's really friendly in and outside of work.
Why do you think that you have such a close community here?
KC: I think it's super planned, you know? We are trying to create a new standard of what manufacturing can be. It's very much focused on the people here. We know that this isn't the most fun job in the entire world. It's very repetitive, but we’re all really compassionate people, and we really care about what we're doing here.
It's still a manufacturing job.
KC: It's hard work, but it's a great place to be. We try to have fun. That's the most important part, I think, about any job, is trying to genuinely have a decent time while you're there. We spend the most time with each other, more than our families. It's important to have some fun at work, while also being safe, and while also continuing to break records. We're able to put our best foot forward and just try and do better than we did the day before.
What would you say to someone who's wondering why this is a good choice for a longer term career?
KC: I was hired during COVID as a temp, which is funny, because now I'm the Second Shift Packaging and Sanitation Manager. I saw myself immediately being able to move into a career here. The reason being is that FedUp Foods has something really wonderful.
How can someone look at this as the beginning of a long term career as opposed to just a job?
KC: If you're coming into a general entry level position, we are very, very focused on hiring from within. The way that we look at hiring from within is we try to find your strengths, right? So we'll place people based on their strengths. So as opportunities become available, which right now we're in a phase of growth, you can make a career here. And your leadership team is going to help guide you into the right path, whatever that looks like for you.
Can you speak to your career path here at FedUp Foods?
KC: I started during COVID. I came in as an On-Call Packaging Tech Temp. During COVID I had been General Managing in hospitality beforehand and I wasn't able to find work because of lockdown. So when I came on, I was a little worried about what manufacturing was going to look like. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that the work-life is very similar to hospitality in the sense that everyone's super tight and it's fun, while also busting out the work that needs to get done. So I decided to stay full-time. Once positions became available, they immediately got me into the first open position, and I've been here for over four years now. From there I was able to work my way up through Packaging Tech to a Line Lead, from a Line Lead to a Supervisor, from a Supervisor to Manager.
And my story is just one of many. There’s so many times that we hire someone who's just looking for a couple days a week. They end up loving it, and now they're full time and they're able to support themselves and their families. It's just a really wonderful thing to be able to be a part of that.
How have you personally grown since you’ve been here?
KC: My growth at FedUp Foods has been really substantial. I feel like I'm the best version of myself now. I'm healthier, I'm happier. I have more to look forward to both inside and outside of work. That’s a general feeling with a lot of my peers and my co-workers and my employees. It's just really amazing being part of this team.
I think I'm a more sympathetic, compassionate leader, and that's definitely because of the opportunities that I've been given here. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for this leadership group.
What do you say are some of the perks of working at FedUp Foods?
KC: Endless kombucha. We get lots of free kombucha (laughs). But more seriously, we have really amazing benefits like 401k matching, amazing health insurance, dental, paid time off, maternity leave, paternity leave.
Any other kinds of fun stuff around the edges?
KC: I would associate that more with our core values, like community. We have a really wonderful community garden space where everyone has their own plot of land. We usually have lots of produce coming in during summer. People can make meals or take it home to their families, which is great. We have a really amazing speaker series where people from all over the world have been able to be a part of it. They are here to teach us about different things happening in the economy and in the industry that we work in.
We also do really fun events. We do summer events, holiday parties. This year we're going to Dollywood again as a big company with everyone’s families. So it's going to be a really amazing time.
What does that say about the company to you as an employee, that that's a priority or part of their mission and business?
KC: I think everything that we do speaks to the fact that we live by the values of the company. There's a difference between saying one thing and then doing another. FedUp Foods is really wonderful at sticking to what they believe in and showing up for their staff in the way that they do.
How do you see the future of FedUp Foods?
KC: There’s endless opportunity right now. We're about to open our new facility in Wilmington. There's no sight of slowing down. It's just full steam ahead. We're really looking to bring on talented individuals to help build our team.
