Toni’s Kitchen Provides Individual Coaching to Guests

Toni's Kitchen is a place where guests can find not only healthy food, but many services to help them lead more independent lives. Guests often need help in navigating the complexities of health care insurance and different aspects of employment.

One of the services that Toni's Kitchen now offers is one-on-one coaching with Mary Conroy, a former human resources executive in the corporate world who was focused on employment and health insurance. Mary began providing this service in late March 2024 and so far she has worked with 21 unique guests. 

Nancy Xenakis, a staff member of Toni's Kitchen who manages Choice Pantry's community-based partnerships, says Mary provides assistance to guests in a number of ways.

"We have a guest who has Medicare, is out of work on medical disability, and applied for NJ Family Care," Nancy says. "He got a whole slew of mail including what appeared to be a denial from NJ Family Care and had no idea what it all was. Mary spread it out on her table, sorted and reviewed it with him so he could make sense of it all. Ultimately he decided to file an appeal for this denial and is awaiting the outcome."

Mary also works with guests in their search for jobs. She helps guests with their resumes, how to look for jobs that meet with qualifications and interests, how to organize and track submitted applications, how to prepare for in-person or virtual interviews, how to follow up with potential employers and key factors to consider when deciding on whether to accept a job.

"Mary first carefully listens to guests' stories to understand their employment history, current needs and interests," says Nancy. "Then she'll develop a customized plan with each guest offering support and guidance until the client feels their goals have been met."

Nancy says the feedback that guests have given on Mary's work has been very positive. One guest commented, "Mary helped me see my full potential." Another said, "Mary connected me with resources for my job search that I didn't know existed." And a third said, "Now I have a strong resume. I never really knew how to put one together properly."

This program with Mary Conroy is just another way that Toni's Kitchen helps support our community with services to improve their lives.