Kids Kupboard welcomes new executive director

WASILLA — Milena Sevigny is the new Executive Director of Kids Kupboard, a nonprofit dedicated to providing fresh and healthy meals to local children in need.

Sevigny started her new position in August. She said that she is excited for the opportunity to help lead an organization with a mission that aligns perfectly with her values.

Sevigny has a diverse background that includes work as the community relations coordinator for TOTE Maritime and founding the Mat-Su Seed Library. She has volunteered for Kids Kupboard since 2016, helping out in various ways including donating produce from her personal garden.

"They're feeding kids with fresh, healthy food and that's what speaks to my soul."

Kids Kupboard established a garden space on the headquarters property last summer. Sevigny said it's a natural progression of the organization's overall mission. She said one of her main goals moving forward is to further expand their farming program by adding more areas to grow fruits and vegetables and offering classes to local families. She added that there will also be remote learning opportunities as well.

"We're not just going to talk about it. We're going to do it and we're going to have the kids on the journey with us."

Sevigny replaced the former Executive Director Lynette Ortolano who founded Kids Kupboard in 2015. She marveled at Ortolano's unwavering dedication to such an important cause and her tireless efforts evolving the organization to what it is today with the help of passionate staff and volunteers.

"Her passion and her drive to never give up and to keep the kids at the center of everything she did was so important to pushing to feed more and more kids with healthy food," Sevigny said.

Kids Kupboard logistics officer Dwayne Shelton has been involved since the organization's inception. He said that he enjoyed working with Ortolano over the years and seeing how far they've come.

"She did a great job. We had a great time. It was awesome," Shelton said. "I'm proud of what we accomplished. I'm glad we were able to do what we do and get meals out there."

Kids Kupboard currently has four full time staff members and an average of about 80 to 100 volunteers year round, according to operations manager Chris Haugom.

"I think it's great. The mission of feeding kids reaching those without access to food is huge to me. I feel fulfilled every day knowing that I made a difference. That's really important to me," Haugom said.

Sevigny noted that Kids Kupboard is one of the few organizations that can accept help from youth volunteers and local schools and groups offer help on a regular basis. She credited the steadfast support of staff and volunteers for the organization's success.

"It's because of them. They're really the ones that keep us going," Sevigny said.

The Kids Kupboard headquarters features numerous functions besides the main administrative office. It has a commercial kitchen, garden, a conference room for meetings and events, and a large warehouse space stocked full of donated food items.

Haugom regularly helps prepare hot and cold meals for distribution. He said they utilize healthy ingredients and cover the major food groups.

"All of this we will 100 percent use." .

Kids Kupboard currently has 17 distribution sites during the winter and 32 sites during the summer, according to Sevigny. Sites are located at places such as schools and parks across the Mat-Su Valley. There is also a mobile meal delivery program that serves rural clients.

Sevigny said that they're carrying Ortolano's vision of feeding every child in need forward with the help of the multi-use facility she helped establish before she retired.

"The organization does so much more than people realize behind the scenes," Sevigny said. "There's just so many possibilities. This property brings all those potentials along with it."

For more information, visit kidskupboard.org.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com