Food assistance role is tangible and meaningful

Nicole Garden
Food Assistance programs

James Scovel has an interesting and fulfilling job at WSDA. And it’s one you may not know much about if you don’t work with him in the agency’s Food Assistance programs. 

As a food assistance specialist, James supports organizations working to reduce hunger by providing access to food for those in need. 

“Being a food bank director can be a thankless job. They are underrated, underpaid, and frequently volunteers. Being able to support those people is meaningful,” he said. 

James has the daunting responsibility of ordering USDA commodities for food banks and pantries throughout Washington State, approximately $30 million worth just this year. By communicating with hunger relief contractors and soliciting feedback about client preference, he gains a better understanding of the needs of food banks and families in need across the state. 

James ensures what he orders for the state’s food pantries fills the gaps in the hunger relief system.

From GA to WSDA

James started his career 21 years ago working for the old General Administration agency’s state surplus. At the time, state surplus stored and transported USDA commodity foods, and administered both The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). 

It was at GA that Kim Eads (TEFAP and CSFP manager) met James and brought him on as an inventory specialist for the USDA commodity programs. 

“Throughout the years, James has continued to grow in his position as it continued to evolve,” Kim said. 

In 2010, the federal and state food assistance programs combined and moved to WSDA. James believes that move was the best fit for the newly integrated programs, because agriculture is primarily about food and everyone deserves access to it. 

“Food Assistance being within agriculture allows us to make direct connections with farms and the hunger relief world,” James said.

Helping others most meaningful

James is passionate about his role in making food accessible and equitable for all. 

“Helping people who are less fortunate than yourself is one of the most important things a person can do,” he said. “Some people’s jobs are abstract, but everyone needs food. It’s easy to explain what I do and the results of my work.”

In his work, James strategically spreads delivery dates, eliminates duplication of food items, and reduces food waste. 

“Right now we are seeing a considerable amount of food coming through the state due to the Trade Mitigation Program. With all the fresh and frozen products that are available due to this program, it’s vital that food banks know what is coming, so they can efficiently get it out to their food pantries and into the hands of their clients,” he said.  

Foodie outside work too

James’s passion for food doesn’t stop at work; he is a “foodie” through and through. He loves to try new recipes and go out to the latest restaurants, experiencing other cultures through their food. 

“I grew up coming together with my family to eat a meal. Our world was built upon the food that brought us together,” he said. “That’s why this work appeals to me, because everyone deserves quality food.”

Coming together with family over a meal is still important to James. Most of his extended family lives within 50 miles of his home in Olympia, and weekend family barbeques occur regularly. 

Last year James expanded his family when he married his wife, Cherish. His favorite thing to do outside of work is to cook a yummy meal at home to share with his wife and (if they are lucky), his two dogs Neo and Trinity.

In summary: Meet James Scovel, a food assistance specialist with WSDA’s Food Assistance programs. He is passionate about supporting hunger relief organizations and helping make quality food available to those in need.

Update on leadership meetings and communication

Patrick Capper
Deputy Director 

Dave Ginocchio, a pest biologist with the Plant Protection Division, works in
the plant pathology lab. The future of WSDA lab space is one topic our
Leadership Team has been discussing

To honor our commitment for transparency, I want to let you know about some topics your Leadership Team (LT) has addressed. 

Our spring check-ins were focused on planning for Public Service Recognition Week to assure that each division was organizing activities to recognize agency employees. 


A number of additional topics have been covered: 

Employee Engagement Survey – LT will establish an internal team to promote participation in this year’s statewide employee survey, which launches in October. 

Legislative session briefings – WSDA’s Policy Office team did a great job representing us in the last session. For information about policy and budget results that affect our agency, see previous posts on the Insider employee blog. 

Budget and fiscal education – LT members are fortunate to have Gene Emmans, Natasha Roberts and the rest of the fiscal team to keep us briefed and on track concerning budget and fiscal matters. 

Future lab space – The Legislature approved funding for WSDA to potentially share lab space with the Department of Labor & Industries. The new lab space is scheduled for completion in 2027. WSDA labs that could relocate are plant pathology, microbiology, and grain. 

Other topics recently discussed by LT:

• Strategic planning
• Program Manager Forums
• Safety enhancements at Yakima, Cleveland and NRB
• New public website
• Contracts management training
• IT security audit
• HR reporting restructure
• Organizational changes in Animal Services
• Food systems concept (details coming)

Moving forward, we will compile and post monthly summaries of Wednesday LT check-in notes and notify you when they are available.

In summary: WSDA’s Leadership Team has transitioned the way they meet and coordinate, and now rely solely on weekly check-ins to stay connected. Patrick Capper explains and summarizes the topics leaders have been discussing. 

Farm to School team co-hosts regional gatherings for farmers, nutrition staff, educators and community

Chris Iberle
Farm to School and Value Chains Specialist  

Linking Washington’s food producers to school-meal programs delivers benefits all around. Farmers gain new markets while students get fresh, local food as well as a chance to learn more about where their food comes from and even how to grow it themselves.

Attendees of the Farm to School Regional
Gathering in Vancouver, Wash. 

WSDA has provided farm to school services since 2004 and continues that work as part of the Regional Markets Program. By fostering relationships between schools and agricultural producers, the program supports expanding economic opportunities for farmers while educating students about food, farming, health, and the environment.

Farm to school activities at dozens of schools across the state include cafeterias serving Washington-grown foods, school gardens, and agricultural education at farms and in the classroom.

Gatherings strengthen connections

Earlier this year, people working on farm to school activities around the state met to build local momentum for this movement. The “Regional Farm to School Gatherings” were co-hosted by WSDA and other members of the Washington State Farm to School Network, which WSDA helped launch in 2018.

Attendees of the Farm to School Regional
Gathering in Federal Way. 

More than 150 people attended the six gatherings in Chelan, Federal Way, Spokane, Walla Walla, Brush Prairie, and Mount Vernon, held between May and June. At each event, WSDA staff facilitated training and networking for food producers and school nutrition staff to encourage buying and serving more Washington-grown foods.

School gardeners, farm educators, agriculture teachers, and other farm to school supporters also attended to forge and strengthen local connections.

WSDA support

The WSDA Farm to School team offers various services, such as trainings and workshops for farmers and schools, factsheets and other publications, and conducting surveys and research. We advise producers on how to sell to schools, and help school districts increase Washington-grown foods in their school meal programs.

The team is now gearing up for its biggest awareness-raising event, “Taste Washington Day,” which occurs annually on the first Wednesday in October. The Farm to School team coordinates the day with the Washington School Nutrition Association and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to celebrate the harvest season with Washington-grown lunches, school gardening, and other farm to school activities at schools across the state.

Expect to hear more about this big day at the end of summer.

In summary: WSDA’s Farm to School services build local networks to link farmers and food producers with school districts. Recently, a series of six gatherings strengthened those connections by bringing producers, school nutrition staff and others together to support farm to school activities.

Your feedback prompts continued improvements

Patrick Capper
Deputy Director

Deputy Director Patrick Capper

I hope all of you enjoyed Public Service Recognition Week. It was great to see all the fun activities that were planned throughout the agency. Thank you to those who put time and effort into planning this year’s events. Let’s continue to recognize each other’s good work throughout the year!

As summer officially kicks off, Director Sandison and I thank you again for participating in listening sessions over the past year. The Leadership Team is acting on your suggestions and working to implement division-specific and agency-wide improvements. While there’s more work to do, we have heard your concerns and I want to mention a few areas of particular focus.

Administrative Services

The assistant director position for administrative services was re-established to better serve the enterprise needs of the agency. The current Administrative Services Division consists of Information Technology, Performance and Planning Management Office, Administrative Regulations, and the Safety Program. As of July 11, Human Resources will also report to the Administrative Services Division on a temporary basis. 

Organizing administrative services in this way creates efficiencies and allows the division to have a consistent voice to advocate for staff and resolve issues quickly.   

Information Technology 

• Initiated reoccurring meetings with assistant directors and program managers to improve communication and establish a customer-service approach with divisions.  
• Restructured the IT Governance Process with appropriate agency representatives to ensure timely project delivery and oversight. 
• Hired a cyber-security specialist to ensure network security and continuity of operations. 
• Moving forward with implementation of credit card payments. 
• Exploring options for additional funding to ensure IT has adequate resources to conduct their work.  

The Performance and Planning Management Office 

• Initiated “Project Management Portfolio” to track agency projects and ensure they are on schedule and on budget. This includes IT projects, as well as other process improvement projects throughout the agency.  
• Established a Program Manager’s Forum to communicate critical agency information to WSDA’s program managers. This forum is used to share key information such as leadership, legislative and financial updates, the director’s schedule, and other relevant agency information. This forum also allows WSDA leadership to hear feedback from program managers and their staff.  

Safety Program 

• Increased safety measures and situational awareness at WSDA’s Yakima and Cleveland buildings, as well as securing the second floor of the Natural Resources Building. Other safety activities include improved communication, concealment rooms identified, security cameras installed, and key card systems enhanced.
• Finalizing new protocols for inclement weather to establish parody with our offices throughout Washington. The safety team is also exploring updated protocols for a potentially smoky summer in Washington State this year. 
• Developing an effective ergonomics program by identifying opportunities to improve outreach, provide assessments, and implement strategies to improve the workplace environment.

Human Resources

• Rolling out new employee orientation process to familiarize new hires with WSDA.
• Initiated reoccurring meetings with assistant directors to build relationships, assess service levels, and better understand the needs of programs and divisions.  
• Acquiring software to produce updated organization charts that accurately reflect the current structure of the agency.  

WSDA’s New Website 

After more than 15 years, WSDA has a new website! Thank you and congratulations to Communications Director Hector Castro, his team, and everyone involved in this important project.

I also wanted to mention that Director Sandison now has offices on both the east and west sides of the state allowing him to continue his statewide reach and focus. 

The Director continues to forge strong relationships with USDA, Washington’s federal, state, and local elected officials, and other agricultural leaders throughout the U.S. and the world. His work has put WSDA at the forefront of the national conversation around agriculture and trade. WSDA is a stronger entity on the national stage thanks to Director Sandison’s vision and commitment to agriculture.    

To ensure that WSDA remains a positive and fulfilling place to work, the Leadership Team will continue to listen, assess and respond to your suggestions and concerns. 

In summary: Feedback from staff listening sessions continues to drive agency improvement activities. Deputy Director Patrick Capper gives an update of what’s happening. 

Dairy farm innovations highlight program’s team gathering

Chery Sullivan
Dairy Nutrient Management Program

Matias Sjogren, with BioFiltro® shares his passion for worm-
based filtering systems with Chery Sullivan, center, and Kerri
Love, inspector with DNMP.

The WSDA Dairy Nutrient Management Program team gathered in Sunnyside on June 10 through 12. 

The highlight of our time together was on Tuesday. We hosted a field day of tours and cross-program training with staff from Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) team, Oregon State University, and Washington Department of Ecology’s CAFO program. 

We all found it valuable to coordinate with and learn from our colleagues doing similar work toward similar missions. 

During our working lunch, we had time to talk about cross-program issues, including inspection efficiencies, post-harvest, fall soil nitrate levels, database development, E. coli and fecal coliform, and many other manure-related topics. How many business lunches have you attended where all you talk about is poop? 

Helpful worms

Wiggly worms remove nutrients from
dairy manure liquids. Transferring
phosphorus and nitrogen from the liquids
to the worms and their castings give diary
producers more application flexibility.

As part of our field tours, we stopped at a dairy that has installed a demonstration worm-bed system. Russ Davis, with the “organics residual management” company Organix, Inc. which installed the system, filled us in. Organix received a grant through our program’s penalty grants process to show how converting a dairy lagoon to the BioFiltro BIDA® system (basically a giant worm bin) will remove nutrients from dairy manure liquid.

The phosphorus and nitrogen found in liquid manure are important nutrients for plant growth. Using tools to remove some of them from the liquid (for instance, to be held in worm castings or in solids), allows the dairy producer more flexibility to move and apply those nutrients where they are most needed. 

Organix also set up a big worm bed at Royal Dairy. Ultimately, they plan to have almost six acres of worm beds. 

The system we toured, specifically designed for small farms, processes 300 gallons of dairy manure effluent per day. The resulting “worm tea,” or the liquid left after running the manure through the worm bed, contains less nitrogen, pathogens, and phosphorus. Those nutrients are retained in the worms and their castings. 

Standing in front of the BioFiltro® worm bed system, the DNMP team is joined
by colleagues from Oregon and Washington Ecology department on their field day tours June 11.

We also toured a newly installed centrifuge system at a large dairy. The centrifuge is part of the dairy’s treatment system designed to remove manure solids and nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. 

We are grateful to the dairies that opened their doors to our diverse group. The tours offered a first-hand look, which helped us better understand the investments and innovation being made to manage manure nutrients. 

In summary: WSDA’s Dairy Nutrient Management Program learned first-hand how worms and centrifuges can help sustainably manage dairy-farm manure.

WSDA parents start using new infants-in-workplace policy

Kathy Davis
Communications

Harper Glaspie and her mom, Tess, at work in the Natural Resources Building.

The sound of sweet-baby cooing may be the new sign of a modern, family-friendly workplace. 

Since WSDA adopted a new policy on March 18 allowing employees to bring infants to work, a couple of pioneering moms have become the first to try it out. 

Tess Glaspie brought her daughter, Harper, into the office two days a week from mid-March through late-April. Harper was already five months old when the policy went into effect. The policy specifies that the infant must be between six weeks and six months of age to participate. 

Tess is a customer service specialist in the Pesticide Management Division’s Registration and Licensing Program in Olympia. She said she was excited to take advantage of the policy because she wanted to spend more time with Harper to bond with her. 

“Bringing Harper into the workplace strengthened our bond,” Tess said. 

Karri Doescher brought her four-month-old son Rowan into her workplace from late March through May. Karri is a program specialist with the Seed Program in Yakima. 

Rowan Doescher, held by his big brother.

“It provided me with a chance to have some special one-on-one time with him,” she said. 

Best practices for a changing workplace

In developing the infants-in-the-workplace policy, WSDA was following best practices being used at other state agencies, according to Julie Amell, Human Resources director. 

Robin Schoen-Nessa, assistant director of the Pesticide Management Division, said this policy makes sense for our changing workforce. 

“We have younger staff and have more young moms taking maternity leave,” Robin noted. “We want to be supportive of our employees and their families, and keep talented workers who want to continue their careers here.”

Rickie Johnson, Tess’s supervisor, said having Harper in the office was easy. 

“There were days when she would not make a sound, except for sweet cooing,” Rickie said. “It boosted the morale in our unit. She would put a smile on people’s faces.”

Rickie also surmised that staff were even more focused on their work, because “they wanted to be quiet knowing a baby was around.”

The Seed Program employees’ reaction was also positive.

“Most were excited and happy for me and thought this new policy was wonderful,” Karri said. “They really enjoyed seeing Rowan and were sad when his time was up.” 

Advanced planning

Rickie and Robin emphasized that it’s worth giving parents a chance to take advantage of the policy. 

Happy Harper

“You need to plan ahead,” Rickie advised. “Discuss the scheduling and setup plan, and keep communication open.” 

“You never know with babies,” Tess said. “If Harper had been a fussy baby, it wouldn’t have worked. Don’t force it.”

To learn more, see WSDA policy POL-HR-248, “Allowing Employees to Bring Infants to Work.” It has accompanying procedures, including one about how to handle complaints, and a questions-and-answers document with more details. 

In summary: The first pioneering moms and babies have taken advantage of WSDA’s infants-in-the-workplace policy. Learn about this policy and how it has worked for the parent employees, their coworkers and supervisors in the latest Insider post.

National food protection fellowship is a career booster

Kathy Davis
Communications

Ashlee-Rose Ferguson

How are WSDA employees enhancing their careers and reaching personal goals? The Insider is featuring staff who go beyond “duties as required” to increase their professional profile and benefit the work they do for the agency. 

Next up is Ashlee-Rose Ferguson, Animal Feed Program. As her program’s Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFRPS) coordinator, Ashlee-Rose assures that the program implements and maintains standards, as well as develops training for inspectors. 

At the end of June, she will complete a year-long fellowship with the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI). The fellowship program for food protection professionals requires participants to:

• Attend three, week-long educational sessions in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• Participate in webinars and e-learning courses.
• Conduct an original, evidence-based project. 

“IFPTI redesigned the fellowship this year to include more hands-on activities,” Ashlee-Rose said. “All the competencies they develop I’ve either encountered, or will. And they were looking for more feed participants, so I applied.”

Being accepted is not easy. IFPTI selected 12 fellows for the 2018-2019 cohort (class) from 400 applications. Ashlee-Rose was the only one from the animal feed regulation field chosen.  

Fellows are paired with a food protection mentor to help guide their research projects. The mentor also helps them develop professional growth plans to lead to long-term career growth and leadership. 

Pet food regulation gap

Ashlee-Rose’s research project focused on refrigerated and frozen pet food. She looked at the specific risks these perishable, usually raw, foods pose and the authority of government agencies to regulate them. 

More pet owners are choosing fresher diets. However, these perishable foods present different risks and require care such as temperature control to limit bacteria growth. 

Ashlee-Rose surveyed pet food regulatory agencies around the country, as well as inspectors at retail stores that handle this type of pet food. 

Her results showed a gap in the regulation of refrigerated and frozen pet food. While agencies do have some enforcement authority on the products themselves, she found that few can enforce on violations at retail facilities. 

Challenging, but worth it

She will have her research article published, create a poster, and present the project at a professional conference. 

“It’s a great opportunity to impact public policy,” she said. “And being a published author will help my resume.”

Ashlee-Rose described her fellowship as challenging, time consuming, and pretty stressful at times. “I developed an eye-twitch and got my first gray hair,” she noted. 

Ashlee-Rose, center, with her IFPTI fellowship group. 

It was also so worth it. “I recommend the fellowship to anyone that would like to challenge themselves and make a beneficial impact,” she said. 

“I have 11 new best friends,” as she described her other fellows. “We chat and communicate all the time. We bonded as a group. The experience showcased how food safety is all connected.” 

Ashlee-Rose will graduate from the fellowship program at the 123rd annual Association of Food and Drug Officials educational conference held June 22-26 in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In summary: Ashlee-Rose has spent the past year participating in a national fellowship program for food protection professionals. While challenging and time consuming, it has enhanced her skills, knowledge, and career opportunities.