Stephanie Wrathall, Project Manager at United Fresh New Zealand Incorporated, fell into the world of fresh produce through a bit of luck. However, the inspiration to continue has come in many forms.
She has been at United Fresh for nearly 13 years, starting in an administrative role and now serving as a Project Manager on various projects. The largest has been Fruit in Schools, which reaches 565 schools across 21 regions, equating to over 126,000 students and staff each day and supplying a whopping 27 million pieces of fruit annually.
As part of a non-profit organisation, she said it was amazing to see what could be achieved on a small budget.
“Managing Fruit in Schools gives our work huge meaning; feeding some of the most vulnerable children in New Zealand with healthy food has a real and lasting impact on school and kura communities,” said Wrathall.
“The horticulture industry is filled with hard-working, down-to-earth people doing incredible things. It’s awesome to see and rub shoulders with these change-makers. Our Women in Horticulture project has given me a renewed sense of energy for the industry, and we are doing genuinely good work in this space.”
Wrathall was lucky to work in an office surrounded by wonderful women and have a female boss whom she has learnt a lot from. She said she tends to be naturally creative, but from her General Manager, she has learnt to be structured and logical, cutting through the issue at hand, and it has been such a great skill to add to her kit.
A career highlight for Wrathall has been winning the 2022 Primary Industries NZ Summit Team Award for the work delivering 300,000 boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables to families during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“It was wonderful to be able to help so many in such a scary time for our nation and work with a team able to adapt from our Fruit in Schools quickly to creating a new database for food banks.”
She was also fortunate to be tasked with managing the Women in Horticulture project for United Fresh, which supports women in connecting, being valued, and having equitable access to opportunities.
“I’m very lucky that each day we talk to schools and see the impact of receiving fresh fruit and vegetables has on kura and schools, helping to create healthy eating habits is huge, and I am blown away when we hear, for example, of kids trying apricots for the first time,” added Wrathall.
“I’m also motivated to support women in our industry, creating spaces and workshops where they can gather, learn and gain confidence, which helps get me out of bed in the morning.”
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