For MOFC’s Director of Prepared Foods Sha-Wana Pressley, food access means more than just having a full plate. The act of making and sharing food with others—and building a space that makes that sharing possible—is how Sha-Wana has learned to lift up her community and bring her neighbors together one meal at a time. Over her seven years and three positions at MOFC, Sha-Wana has helped strengthen the Collective’s diverse and growing prepared food operations through the Mid-Ohio Kitchen.
One of MOFC’s five core assets, the Mid-Ohio Kitchen includes two commercial-grade kitchens—one at MOFC headquarters in Grove City and one at the Reeb Center on Columbus’ south side. Under Sha-Wana’s supervision, the 17-person Mid-Ohio Kitchen team and scores of volunteers prepare and deliver thousands of fresh meals across Franklin County every week to after-school programs, feeding sites for unhoused Ohioans, and more.
MOFC’s kitchens prepare and deliver meals daily to the YMCA’s Van Buren Center in Franklinton and the Mount Carmel Street Medicine program, which offers check-ups and meals to unhoused people. The Mid-Ohio Kitchen at Reeb prepares healthy meals for the SproutFive early childcare center co-located in the Reeb Center and other kids’ programs across Columbus. As a whole, Mid-Ohio Kitchen operations are set to distribute an estimated 360,000 meals in fiscal year 2023.
Sha-Wana played a key role in the growth of MOFC’s children’s feeding programs and the MId-Ohio Kitchen at Reeb Center that hosts a free community meal every weekday. As she proudly points out, the space is used by people from all backgrounds, from south side neighbors and local professionals to customers experiencing homelessness. She said spaces like the Mid-Ohio Kitchen at Reeb offer more than just food.
“Our community, even the ones who are struggling, need their most basic needs met. We can provide that. But people also need relationships,” Sha-Wana said. “They need affection, love, and community. You can receive that here. Here, you can find family.”
“Just because you’re lost doesn’t mean you’ve lost your value,” she added.
Looking back over her life, Sha-Wana said she never charted a course for herself in food service. The Columbus native and mother of two grew up in the city’s South Linden neighborhood. As a high school student, she found herself in the State of Ohio’s Work Experience and Career Exploration Program. She began working at a local McDonald’s restaurant instead of attending classes several times a week as part of her program placement. Back then, it didn’t strike her as the beginning of a career.
“I never pictured myself being a director of anything!” Sha-Wana said. “But even if you don’t have a formal education, everything you do in life creates a path.”
Working in fast food paid the bills and, crucially, helped Sha-Wana land a job in a corporate cafeteria owned by L-Brands. In her nearly 10 years working there, she cooked alongside coworkers with formal culinary training. She said she sometimes felt out of place. It was her supervisor and mentor Amy Schiebel who made her feel welcome and encouraged her to “find her voice.”
“She challenged me in terms of accountability and pushed people in a good way,” Sha-Wana said. “She encouraged me to be more confident in my abilities.”
When Amy accepted a program director position with MOFC, she called on Sha-Wana to become the Collective’s assistant site manager for what was then called the Roots Café at Reeb. In 2018, Sha-Wana was promoted to site manager and tasked with expanding the Kids Café program that helps provide meals to after-school groups across Columbus. The job was like managing a “business within a business,” Sha-Wana said, but operations continued to grow.
“I can see myself in that work. I see where we started and where we are now,” Sha-Wana said. “It’s something my hands helped build.”
In the early days of the Kids Café program expansion, Sha-Wana and her team would sometimes start as early as 6 a.m. and work as late as midnight. After cooking in the mornings, they would hand deliver fresh, prepared meals to all the kids’ programs on their route.
The kitchen’s team and output grew. And when the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, Mid-Ohio Kitchen operations continued. Sha-Wana said MOFC leaders understood that many kids getting meals could go hungry if deliveries stopped. Masked and distanced, the kitchen crew kept at their work throughout the early pandemic.
Those experiences put Sha-Wana in position for another promotion, and she officially became MOFC’s director of prepared foods in mid-2020. She splits her working time among MOFC’s assets these days, but her spiritual home is still the Mid-Ohio Kitchen at Reeb that she helped develop, build, and refine.
As people filter into the dining area each morning, many recognize her and members of the Mid-Ohio Kitchen team. She recognizes regulars, too, and takes pride in knowing how specific customers like their coffee or tea. Even on difficult days, Sha-Wana said, seeing the tables and chairs fill up reminds her of why the work is worth it and how a meal can help neighbors connect.
“This is why I do what I do,” said Sha-Wana, smiling.
“A lot of people who come here and use our services feel like they have no one else in the world. We want to continue to build a space that bridges the gap,” Sha-Wana said. “This space conveys the message, ‘you are important, we see you.’ Food is our common ground, and when you come here, we hope you can find hope and love in that meal.”
