“Road trips are the equivalent of human wings. Ask me to go on one, any one. We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history and the stories, feel the ground, and capture the spirit. Then we’ll turn it into our own story, that will live inside our history to carry with us. Always. Because stories are more important than things.”
Victoria Erickson
Back in 2020, a group of us spent a few months in an RV driving coast to coast to visit our collaborators: farmers, food banks, and community members that our food movement was directly effecting. We wanted to understand the impact of our work that couldn’t be captured over a phone call or zoom meeting. The experience was transformative and it brought to light the intricacies of the problem we were working to solve. In addition to guiding our future work, we used our platform to give our receipts and partners a voice on their experiences. We wanted to show what it actually like to be a farmer, working at a food bank, or a family struggling with food insecurity during the COVID 19 pandemic. The impact of this tour was unquantifiable.
The FIELD fellowship was started on the principle that if one student idea could become one of the fastest growing food recovery operations, what could happen if we put dozens more into motion. It was clear that it was time to hit the road again to bring light to the impact of our fellows.
Over the next month and a half, I am setting out across the states to visit our FIELD fellows who are working with food system partners. They are collaborating with organizations to learn by doing, meaningfully contribute to their current operations, and work together to build more just and sustainable food systems. In addition to visiting our fellows, I am taking advantage of being on the ground to meet with Farmlink’s broader community: our alumni, food program partners, and donors.
This tour is made possible by our incredible partnership with Planet Home Lending, LLC! They supported our first national tour in 2020, and it felt natural to team up again. Through their social responsibility platform, Planet With a Purpose, Planet Home Lending is committed to making a meaningful environmental and social impact. They are excited to join us in empowering the next generation of change-makers in the food system.
During my first leg, I headed west from California to Denver, CO. where they work with distribution partners to direct recovered food to the Denver community, to save food, feed people, and protect the planet. Their mission is to increase food access and protect the planet by rescuing and repurposing food, while educating and advocating to decrease food waste and food insecurity.
First, I made a stop in Monte Vista to say “hi” to Lonnie from Farm Fresh Direct of America, one of our largest grower/packer/shipper partners. Lonnie shared more about how she came to be their chief organic officer, her vision for the organization, and how our collaboration can impact the future of the food system in the US. From Monte Vista, I headed to Denver Colorado to work alongside Alaina and witness all the ways in which she is empowering her partner to reach new communities and serve the food they are recovering. As this being my first site visit with a FIELD fellow, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Upon my arrival, it was clear that Alaina had become an integral part of their team. As the only person who worked across their warehouse and business offices, she witnesses critical disconnections that she’s working to improve to support the overall health of the organization. I left Denver, feeling more personally connected to Alaina, inspired by her willingness to jump into the unknown, and inspired by her collaborative efforts.
From Denver, I made my way Northwest, headed towards Portland Oregon. I drove through desert, thunderstorms, over mountain passes, and eventually entered the blissful green forest of Oregon. I met up with Aidan working with Growing Gardens with the Lettuce Grow program, which offers direct support to Adults in Custody (AICs) through hands-on garden training and employment-enhancing certificate programs. I talked with their director and Aidan’s mentor, Rima, who opened my eyes to the impact that programs like this can have on AICs. Aidan has had the opportunity to enter multiple sites and collaborate with AICs on the projects they are passionate about. Growing Gardens is collaborating with another organization to build a greenhouse, wash/pack house, and anaerobic digester, to create a closed loop food system to support community members. Aidans’ curiosity drew him to this work, but it’s clear that his passion for bringing life into prisons has blossomed.
Aidan went to Lewis and Clark College in Portland and gave me a tour of his favorite city. We tried the famous Blue Star donuts, explored parks, and went to a free summer concert with some of his old college friends.
After many long days of driving, it was time to head back home to San Francisco! I stopped in Josephine county to camp for a night and kicked off my last day driving with a dip in the river. It was beautiful and refreshing to say the least.
Now that I am back home, for a short 16 hours, I am repacking for the east coast; swapping my jeans out for dress pants, t-shirts for blouses and getting ready to meet our fellows in Washington D.C. for the GenZ Congressional Food and Hunger Summit. I kept my boots and work pants packed because I knew I would be hitting a few farms along the way. I can’t wait to see where the next leg takes me.
Until next time,
Stella
< Back
“Road trips are the equivalent of human wings. Ask me to go on one, any one. We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history and the stories, feel the ground, and capture the spirit. Then we’ll turn it into our own story, that will live inside our history to carry with us. Always. Because stories are more important than things.”
Victoria Erickson
Back in 2020, a group of us spent a few months in an RV driving coast to coast to visit our collaborators: farmers, food banks, and community members that our food movement was directly effecting. We wanted to understand the impact of our work that couldn’t be captured over a phone call or zoom meeting. The experience was transformative and it brought to light the intricacies of the problem we were working to solve. In addition to guiding our future work, we used our platform to give our receipts and partners a voice on their experiences. We wanted to show what it actually like to be a farmer, working at a food bank, or a family struggling with food insecurity during the COVID 19 pandemic. The impact of this tour was unquantifiable.
The FIELD fellowship was started on the principle that if one student idea could become one of the fastest growing food recovery operations, what could happen if we put dozens more into motion. It was clear that it was time to hit the road again to bring light to the impact of our fellows.
Over the next month and a half, I am setting out across the states to visit our FIELD fellows who are working with food system partners. They are collaborating with organizations to learn by doing, meaningfully contribute to their current operations, and work together to build more just and sustainable food systems. In addition to visiting our fellows, I am taking advantage of being on the ground to meet with Farmlink’s broader community: our alumni, food program partners, and donors.
This tour is made possible by our incredible partnership with Planet Home Lending, LLC! They supported our first national tour in 2020, and it felt natural to team up again. Through their social responsibility platform, Planet With a Purpose, Planet Home Lending is committed to making a meaningful environmental and social impact. They are excited to join us in empowering the next generation of change-makers in the food system.
During my first leg, I headed west from California to Denver, CO. where they work with distribution partners to direct recovered food to the Denver community, to save food, feed people, and protect the planet. Their mission is to increase food access and protect the planet by rescuing and repurposing food, while educating and advocating to decrease food waste and food insecurity.
First, I made a stop in Monte Vista to say “hi” to Lonnie from Farm Fresh Direct of America, one of our largest grower/packer/shipper partners. Lonnie shared more about how she came to be their chief organic officer, her vision for the organization, and how our collaboration can impact the future of the food system in the US. From Monte Vista, I headed to Denver Colorado to work alongside Alaina and witness all the ways in which she is empowering her partner to reach new communities and serve the food they are recovering. As this being my first site visit with a FIELD fellow, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Upon my arrival, it was clear that Alaina had become an integral part of their team. As the only person who worked across their warehouse and business offices, she witnesses critical disconnections that she’s working to improve to support the overall health of the organization. I left Denver, feeling more personally connected to Alaina, inspired by her willingness to jump into the unknown, and inspired by her collaborative efforts.
From Denver, I made my way Northwest, headed towards Portland Oregon. I drove through desert, thunderstorms, over mountain passes, and eventually entered the blissful green forest of Oregon. I met up with Aidan working with Growing Gardens with the Lettuce Grow program, which offers direct support to Adults in Custody (AICs) through hands-on garden training and employment-enhancing certificate programs. I talked with their director and Aidan’s mentor, Rima, who opened my eyes to the impact that programs like this can have on AICs. Aidan has had the opportunity to enter multiple sites and collaborate with AICs on the projects they are passionate about. Growing Gardens is collaborating with another organization to build a greenhouse, wash/pack house, and anaerobic digester, to create a closed loop food system to support community members. Aidans’ curiosity drew him to this work, but it’s clear that his passion for bringing life into prisons has blossomed.
Aidan went to Lewis and Clark College in Portland and gave me a tour of his favorite city. We tried the famous Blue Star donuts, explored parks, and went to a free summer concert with some of his old college friends.
After many long days of driving, it was time to head back home to San Francisco! I stopped in Josephine county to camp for a night and kicked off my last day driving with a dip in the river. It was beautiful and refreshing to say the least.
Now that I am back home, for a short 16 hours, I am repacking for the east coast; swapping my jeans out for dress pants, t-shirts for blouses and getting ready to meet our fellows in Washington D.C. for the GenZ Congressional Food and Hunger Summit. I kept my boots and work pants packed because I knew I would be hitting a few farms along the way. I can’t wait to see where the next leg takes me.
Until next time,
Stella
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Out in the field, with the FIELD fellows
West Coast
“Road trips are the equivalent of human wings. Ask me to go on one, any one. We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history and the stories, feel the ground, and capture the spirit. Then we’ll turn it into our own story, that will live inside our history to carry with us. Always. Because stories are more important than things.”
Victoria Erickson
Back in 2020, a group of us spent a few months in an RV driving coast to coast to visit our collaborators: farmers, food banks, and community members that our food movement was directly effecting. We wanted to understand the impact of our work that couldn’t be captured over a phone call or zoom meeting. The experience was transformative and it brought to light the intricacies of the problem we were working to solve. In addition to guiding our future work, we used our platform to give our receipts and partners a voice on their experiences. We wanted to show what it actually like to be a farmer, working at a food bank, or a family struggling with food insecurity during the COVID 19 pandemic. The impact of this tour was unquantifiable.
The FIELD fellowship was started on the principle that if one student idea could become one of the fastest growing food recovery operations, what could happen if we put dozens more into motion. It was clear that it was time to hit the road again to bring light to the impact of our fellows.
Over the next month and a half, I am setting out across the states to visit our FIELD fellows who are working with food system partners. They are collaborating with organizations to learn by doing, meaningfully contribute to their current operations, and work together to build more just and sustainable food systems. In addition to visiting our fellows, I am taking advantage of being on the ground to meet with Farmlink’s broader community: our alumni, food program partners, and donors.
This tour is made possible by our incredible partnership with Planet Home Lending, LLC! They supported our first national tour in 2020, and it felt natural to team up again. Through their social responsibility platform, Planet With a Purpose, Planet Home Lending is committed to making a meaningful environmental and social impact. They are excited to join us in empowering the next generation of change-makers in the food system.
During my first leg, I headed west from California to Denver, CO. where they work with distribution partners to direct recovered food to the Denver community, to save food, feed people, and protect the planet. Their mission is to increase food access and protect the planet by rescuing and repurposing food, while educating and advocating to decrease food waste and food insecurity.
First, I made a stop in Monte Vista to say “hi” to Lonnie from Farm Fresh Direct of America, one of our largest grower/packer/shipper partners. Lonnie shared more about how she came to be their chief organic officer, her vision for the organization, and how our collaboration can impact the future of the food system in the US. From Monte Vista, I headed to Denver Colorado to work alongside Alaina and witness all the ways in which she is empowering her partner to reach new communities and serve the food they are recovering. As this being my first site visit with a FIELD fellow, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Upon my arrival, it was clear that Alaina had become an integral part of their team. As the only person who worked across their warehouse and business offices, she witnesses critical disconnections that she’s working to improve to support the overall health of the organization. I left Denver, feeling more personally connected to Alaina, inspired by her willingness to jump into the unknown, and inspired by her collaborative efforts.
From Denver, I made my way Northwest, headed towards Portland Oregon. I drove through desert, thunderstorms, over mountain passes, and eventually entered the blissful green forest of Oregon. I met up with Aidan working with Growing Gardens with the Lettuce Grow program, which offers direct support to Adults in Custody (AICs) through hands-on garden training and employment-enhancing certificate programs. I talked with their director and Aidan’s mentor, Rima, who opened my eyes to the impact that programs like this can have on AICs. Aidan has had the opportunity to enter multiple sites and collaborate with AICs on the projects they are passionate about. Growing Gardens is collaborating with another organization to build a greenhouse, wash/pack house, and anaerobic digester, to create a closed loop food system to support community members. Aidans’ curiosity drew him to this work, but it’s clear that his passion for bringing life into prisons has blossomed.
Aidan went to Lewis and Clark College in Portland and gave me a tour of his favorite city. We tried the famous Blue Star donuts, explored parks, and went to a free summer concert with some of his old college friends.
After many long days of driving, it was time to head back home to San Francisco! I stopped in Josephine county to camp for a night and kicked off my last day driving with a dip in the river. It was beautiful and refreshing to say the least.
Now that I am back home, for a short 16 hours, I am repacking for the east coast; swapping my jeans out for dress pants, t-shirts for blouses and getting ready to meet our fellows in Washington D.C. for the GenZ Congressional Food and Hunger Summit. I kept my boots and work pants packed because I knew I would be hitting a few farms along the way. I can’t wait to see where the next leg takes me.
Until next time,
Stella
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