ANUP SHARMA
Alumna Making her Mark on local family Business
McFadgen’s Bakery is a name that is familiar to many in Nova Scotia. Initially opened in 1948 as a small family bakery, McFadgen’s has grown into a successful business with multiple production facilities employing more than 70 staff. One of those employees, Alumna Anup Sharma, is leading a project that will provide the bakery with an opportunity to produce private label products for large retail grocery chains.
Anup graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Public Health from Cape Breton University and joined the team at McFagden’s Bakery along with other graduates and CBU students. Working alongside other alumni, including the owner, Darren McFadgen’s wife Stacy, BA'94, Anup found co-workers who soon became friends.
Looking for new opportunities and adventures, Anup first came to Canada from India in 2017 leaving behind a career at a large dental practice.
“When I was trying to decide on where to study, a friend and current student at CBU told me all about the programs available to me there,” says Anup. “CBU offered great courses, and the degree in Public Health fits my dental area experience. I felt that the programs could help me with a new career."
Anup now calls Cape Breton home. She has a brother and a sister in India, and her brother hopes to attend CBU as well.
Anup focuses her work on a unique project assisting McFadgen’s Bakery with Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in the newly-opened facility in Sydport. GFSI was established to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers while continuing to improve food safety throughout the supply chain. These global standards address food, packaging, packaging materials, storage and distribution for primary producers, manufacturers and distributors.
McFadgen’s Bakery has employed more than 15 students and several other CBU Alumni. Four brothers now operate the family business; Darren, Kevin, Donald and Byron. It was opened 72 years ago by their grandfather. Eighty per cent of their clients are located off Cape Breton Island, some as far away as British Columbia.
“The people I work with at McFadgen feel like family to me,” says Anup. “I am grateful for not only the education I received from CBU, but I am also grateful for finding an employer who cares deeply about their employees as well as the community.”
Photo - Anup pictured with borther's Darren and Byron McFadgen.
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