Meet our new CEO: Gary McMahon Interview
We are delighted to have recently welcomed a new CEO - Gary McMahon. Gary has spent the past month learning all things school food, and meeting some of our Meals on Wheels team and their customers. It has been jammed-packed, but last week, we got the chance to sit down for a quick interview on what he hopes he can bring to his new role as CEO of the charity. You can read more about him here;
What made you join City Catering?
I was really drawn to the purpose of the charity - "We believe everyone deserves great quality food, served with kindness and care; therefore we exist to make a tangible nutritional difference in people's lives" - I really like that goal, its very simple and direct, but has a huge impact. I think that we can all understand the benefits of feeding good food to our children, to our more vulnerable communities and to those families that need some extra support.
What goal do you have for the charity?
That is a big question and it is very early days for me, but at this point I think that the biggest priority is to support my colleagues to continue to deliver our excellent school catering services, Meals on Wheels and other programmes across Southampton. We are feeling the impact of COVID and I am very aware of the current pressure on our staff and resources. Beyond that, we have some ambitious plans in development to reach further into the community and target food poverty and food inequality.
Is there something about the charity that you're most proud of?
It is a pretty spectacular achievement that we have never missed a lunch service in any school and that we delivered 1.2 million hot meals last year. For me though, although numbers and data are great, nothing really happens without the skills and dedication of all our employees across the city. I'm proud to be working alongside enthusiastic and talented people and I look forward to getting out to schools and seeing my colleagues in action.
What do you like to do when you're not in the office?
My wife and I have an allotment that we aspire to cultivate. Last summer was the first time we actually produced any veggies and I enjoyed the fact that for most of last summer we were able to eat our own home grown produce. Aside from that I'm always up for long walks with our dog, Scruffy!
We believe that Gary will do all that he humanly can to make sure that we are a healthy and strong charity, where both our staff and our members feel valued and proud to be part of City Catering.
Gary can be contacted on gary.mcmahon@citycateringsouthampton.co.uk and welcomes hearing from the local communities to learn more about what they feel is important to them regarding food security for all.
City Catering invites the local community to follow Gary and the charity’s 2022 journey on their Facebook and Twitter pages.