Valley Food’s Valley: Securing PPE, Safety for Employees

John Valley, vice president at Valley Food Systems in Youngstown, a provider of packaged meals for the U.S. military, is hanging tough. You can read more about Valley Foods at its website.

What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your work life?

During this time, I have had to spend many days working from home. There were adjustments that we all had to make because of our office personnel not being on site every day.

How about your personal life? 

The greatest challenge for me personally was not being able to socialize with family and friends in the evenings.  I am not used to going home every night right after work or staying in my home all day.

What steps are you taking to hang tough? 

I feel a strong sense of responsibility to ensure that our employees, as essential workers, feel safe on the job. I spent and continue to spend a lot of time acquiring PPE for us to utilize as we are not able to halt production during this pandemic. We are endeavoring to put safeguards in place that will permanently change some of the ways we produce so that should we face another situation like this, we will be ready.

What advice are you sharing with the people you love? 

My advice to my family and friends is not to take unnecessary risks. I have especially encouraged my mother to stay home!