NEKCOA Welcomes Herb Will as Director of Nutrition

We are pleased to welcome Herb Will as Director of Nutrition reporting to the Executive Director. He will be responsible for the management of all Council nutrition programs for Essex, Caledonia, and Orleans counties.

The essential responsibilities of the Director of Nutrition are to ensure full compliance with state and federal regulations in relation to contracts with 16 meal provider sites throughout the Northeast Kingdom; develop contracts and monitor agreements between the Council and the meal sites; supervise the contracted Registered Dietitians with client work and meal site meal preparation; data management and reporting; and represent the Council statewide to ensure collaborations with key partners.

“We're thrilled to have Herb join our team. He brings a wealth of experience in nutrition, meal preparation, and meal site management that will no doubt be of great support to our partners to ensure that the nutritional needs of our seniors are being addressed and met,” said Meg Burmeister, Executive Director.

Will brings over 26 years of experience in culinary and food service as an executive chef, lead cook, school foodservice assistant, kitchen manager, restaurant owner, and meal site manager.

For the past three years, he was the Lead Site Manager for Tri-County CAP Senior Meals in Whitefield, NH encompassing eleven meal delivery routes. There he supervised all aspects of meal preparation and delivery. This included the adherence to state health requirements and documentation, food order and delivery, supervision of staff, the coordination of outreach with area health service and community partners, and data management. He supervised the AmeriCorps Senior volunteer program (formerly called RSVP), a key resource for help in meal site prep and delivery. He helped to recruit, train, and track in-kind hours.
His kitchen management experience included executive chef positions at the Inn at Sunset Hill in Sugar Hill, NH and the Inn at Osprey Point in Rock Hall, MD. He operated his own restaurant Herb’s Soup and Such in Chestertown, MD for nine years providing daily meal specials for customers and meal preparation for two local private schools every week.

He worked with the New Hampshire Food Bank’s pilot program “NH Feeding NH,” a grant-funded program that provided purchases of local meats, vegetables, and cheese from farm stands and Farmer’s Markets for senior meal sites.

“At an early age, I developed the love for food. Having attended culinary school, then working in a variety of food service establishments, I settled in the North Country to be closer to my aging in-laws. This transitioned me into a new career path,” said Will. “I am grateful to be coming to the NEK Council on Aging with experience working with a nearby senior congregate and home-delivered meals program possessing a keen interest in nutrition. I embrace “food as medicine” as I am on my own personal fitness journey. A journey that I am excited and grateful to be embarking on with the seniors of the NEK. Together we can grow better. As they say, “Illness becomes wellness when the “I” is changed to a “We.”

He obtained an Associate in Professional Cooking from the Baltimore International Culinary College and attended Anne Arundel Community College for Restaurant Management. He is ServSafe certified and serves as a ServSafe instructor/proctor. His technology experience includes website development, digital content management, social media, and email campaigns.

He lives in Littleton, NH with his family and enjoys practicing in the martial arts, cooking, and serving as a Cub Scout leader.