Margarita Ramos isn’t quite sure where she’d be if not for The Salvation Army of Massachusetts’ Kroc Center Culinary Arts Training Program.
But she knows one thing for certain: It wouldn’t be in a supervisory role as part of the Delaware North Sportservice culinary team at the home venue of the NHL’s Boston Bruins, the NBA’s Boston Celtics and a variety of entertainment acts.
Ramos is one of three culinarians who currently work at TD Garden, thanks to the venue’s partnership 
with the Kroc Center Culinary Arts Training Program and a longstanding relationship with The Salvation Army of Massachusetts through Garden Neighborhood Charities (TD Garden’s philanthropic arm).
“She’s a go-getter,” said Sal Mendola, a concessions sous chef at the Delaware North-owned-and-operated TD Garden. “She’s very motivated. She’s very resilient. She’s someone who you tell, ‘I need this to be done a certain way,’ and then you turn around and say, ‘oh, wow; that’s exactly what I wanted.’”
Garden Neighborhood Charities and TD Garden were early supporters of the Kroc Center – back in 2009, before construction began – and the culinary training program, which was designed to help unemployed or underemployed adults in the Boston region.
“TD Garden got involved with the Salvation Army before the Kroc Center was built,” said TD Garden President Amy Latimer. “It certainly seemed to make a lot of sense that once the Kroc Center opened and they had a culinary program that we would partner since that is one of our key attributes here at the TD Garden; we serve a lot of people.”
The future certainly seems bright as it relates to the Kroc Center’s partnership with Garden Neighborhood Charities and TD Garden. In fact, 13 recent graduates have interviewed for positions at TD Garden.
“If it wasn’t for this program, I would not be prepared. I would not have a supervisor position,” said Ramos, a member of the program’s first graduating class in 2014.
Learn more about Ramos’ journey to TD Garden in a video feature, which can be found by clicking here.