Food Connects is excited to introduce Michelle Pinter-Petrillo as the newest member of the Farm to School team.

Michelle joins the team as the newest Farm to School Coordinator. Michelle comes to Food Connects with a variety of experience teaching and getting people excited about cooking food. She will support Farm to School teams in the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union and Windsor Central Supervisory Union. Most recently, she designed and taught garden, nutrition, and food justice education in public schools in Oakland, CA. She has also served as a private chef, culinary school instructor, and teaches online under her brand, That Vegetable Lady.

Michelle took some time to answer some of our questions, so you could get to know her better!

What interested you most about Food Connects and why are you excited to start working here?

I am really excited about the opportunity to serve as part of a network to support schools, farmers, and local organizations working in communities around this region. Food Connects works alongside so many incredible people and I am excited to expand my own knowledge and understanding of the local food system through this network.

I grew up in Springfield, VT, and was looking to get involved in local school food. I had been following projects in southern Vermont for a few years and I was really drawn to the way that Food Connects brings together different community groups, partners, and individuals to share resources and collaborate. I’m excited to be here!

What do you see for the future of Food Connects and what you will do here? What are your hopes and dreams for this position?

The future of Food Connects will ebb and flow with the future of our food system and that is one of the main reasons that I am excited about being part of this team. Right now everyone is rapidly learning how to best support families in our community through the COVID-19 pandemic and I am sure our work will continue to change.

Growing up in a small town in southern Vermont, food was a way that I learned about different parts of the world and people who didn’t look like me. Food was a way that I learned about what healed my body and how to love and nurture my family. My hope is during my time here at Food Connects, I can continue to push our team to think about how the topic of food can be used to teach anti-racism, body positivity, team building, and connect youth with community service. 

Tell us a little bit more about your online brand, That Vegetable Lady.

I created That Vegetable Lady initially to share my work teaching garden and food education in Oakland schools. During that time, I was diagnosed with celiac disease and even though I had been working in public health education for 8 years, my personal health struggles drastically changed my understanding of food as medicine. It was at that point that I got a certification in holistic nutrition and started to develop online educational programming to share with others.

One common thread that I have found in different states, different schools, and different families is that many Americans are intimidated by cooking veggies. So through my brand, I address that by serving as what I call a Vegetable Promoter.  I share my enthusiasm for vegetables, efficient prep techniques, and strategies to get the most flavor out of each bite. I create videos, teach online classes, and design E-books to share ways to increase self-esteem and efficiency in the kitchen. I currently only work with a few private clients but I look forward to creating more videos soon.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love to play soccer, spend time in the sunshine, and read with my dog, Roxy, at my feet. This winter I am hoping to take my sewing to the next level and start making clothes!

If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?

As a millennial, I would have to say an e-reader so I can read thousands of books while I wait to be saved and then a ball of some sort. Soccer? Basketball? Bouncy? It depends on the type of surface we’re working with.

What is your favorite or least favorite food?

Vegetable Lady Confession: Celery is not my cup of tea.

I don’t have a favorite food, but after many years away and I so excited for my first macintosh apple right off the tree.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I bounced around from wanting to be a firefighter to astronaut to a math professor but after reading my first book by Ruth Reichl, I knew I wanted to eat, cook, and write about food. I went on to write articles critiquing the school nutrition policy in my high school paper and I taught my first cooking class in my freshman college dorm so I like to think I am still pursuing that dream.