Food Connects welcomed Kris Nelson as its Farm to School Program Manager at the end of 2022. She is employing her skills to guide our Farm to School program through its next phase of growth.
Kris joins the team with a professional background in experiential education and service learning. Her career has been focused on fostering collaborative efforts between innovative community-based endeavors and K-12, higher education, and adult literacy programs.
We are thrilled to have her on the team and are excited to share more about her!
What sparked your interest in Food Connects, and why are you excited to be here?
I discovered Food Connects when I saw the Farm to School (FTS) Program Manager position listed in a newsletter from a local, sustainable agriculture organization. I knew I wanted my next job to be connected to supporting regional food systems, and the FTS Program Manager position looked exactly right to me. I live in western Massachusetts, so I needed to do some asking around. The more I learned about Food Connects, not only the work it does but also the kind of organization it strives to be, the more I was sure I wanted to work here.
Why is the local food movement important to you?
I did a research project a few years ago that involved interviewing young adults about their responses to climate change. For me, it was a pretty deep dive into listening to young people’s fears and concerns and also how they are finding a meaningful way forward in their lives, knowing what they know. Toward the end of that project, I realized I also needed to find a meaningful way forward. I started attending meetings focused on developing regional food systems. This struck me as a very pragmatic, necessary project that has the potential to shift how we steward the land we live on, and I wanted to be a part of that work on a daily basis.
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?
I hope, as the Program Manager, I can help create a firm foundation, fiscally and structurally, for the Farm to School program, so it can continue its tremendous work (thanks to our talented and resourceful coaches!) engaging classrooms and cafeterias and reaching further out into the community as well. Additionally, there are a lot of creative possibilities for how we can expand and deepen the work. For instance, I’m interested in exploring what Farm to School might look like for older grade levels. How can we keep the momentum going as a student moves from the awesome Farm to School activities they are doing in elementary school to equally awesome programming in the higher grades? That strikes me as a pretty exciting project.
How will your previous experience impact your work at Food Connects, and what unique perspectives do you bring to the organization?
Over the years, my work in nonprofit organizations has focused on serving as a liaison between creative community-based projects and educational institutions. Sometimes that’s been in K-12 and sometimes at the college level. I think my experience in navigating and linking what are often very different contexts and respecting the needs and goals of each is really important for Farm to School programming. Programmatically, I love the challenge of juggling all the moving parts of a complex and creative community-based project and collaborating with other people in that work. At the organizational level, Food Connects is a place that is learning and growing. It has such a good foundation for continuing to grow in a healthy way. I hope my previous non-profit experiences can contribute to that process.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I’m a very novice gardener. In the past couple of years, I’ve started several different gardens at my home. The goal being more garden, meadow, pollinators, and less lawn.
What is your favorite or least favorite food?
Favorite: A superb peach.
Least favorite: A mealy peach.
Do you have a hidden talent? What is it?
When I was a kid, I jumped on a pogo stick a thousand times in a row. I’m not sure I could do that now.
If I handed you a plane ticket right now to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Ireland.