Ms. Margaret Ann Wallace was one of those workers who would flock to High Street every morning. She said her time at the plant was “hard work, but good experience.” Wallace worked at VITA Foods during summer breaks while she was in high school, and the money she earned allowed her to “take care of school clothes and school supplies.”

African American women in Chestertown chose to work at the VITA Food plant because it was their only option for work according to Ms. Margaret Ann Wallace, and Ms. Amy Wilson, another woman who worked at the plant starting while she was in high school, and then continuing to work there for another 20 years. “I needed a job to run my household, took one wherever I could get one,” said Ms. Amy Wilson.

While it was the only place to work for many African American women, the comradery they built showed that they were working as a greater community. Ms. Margaret Ann Wallace pictures from the factory, she was able to name almost every single lady who was photographed, and was able to recall the times they spent together.

She said that she had “good relationships as I knew most of the people [working].” Ms. Amy Wilson also shared this feeling as she expressed she had “very good friends at VITA foods.” This was a result of the older women training the new and seasonal hires. Ms. Margaret Ann Wallace recalled that the “ladies who worked there always had a story to tell.”

This comradery was intensified as working at the food plant was a family affair. Many women who worked in the plant had family members working with them. Ms. Margaret Ann Wallace herself had her “mother, two grandmothers, and a great aunt” working in the plant along with her.


While the work was hard and physically taxing, it was a job for many African American women in Chestertown. When the plant eventually closed, it caused many women to find work at the Campbell soup plant. But the time and friendships built by VITA foods would never be far behind many of the women who went on to work elsewhere.

– Kamden Richardson

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