Sierra Harvest would like to send out a big thank you to our FoodCorps Service Member Sara Lieber who has been working with us for the past year to encourage elementary and middle school students to eat more delicious local food. Thanks Sara — you literally moved mountains up here in the foothills!
And, Sierra Harvest would like to welcome Lauren Scott in the new role of Food Procurement Specialist. Lauren will be working with the Nevada Joint Union High School District and other institutions to figure out how to bring in more locally grown food at a price point that works for their budgets. Aimee Retzler, Co-director of Sierra Harvest shared that “We are seeing an upward trend in buyers’ interest in getting the best ingredients possible for the people they serve. Lauren will provide a matchmaker service where institutional buyers like food service directors can get connected directly to organic producers to enable a transformation of their supply chain to a more regional food procurement model”.
Lauren has experience with all aspects of local food systems — she has worked in the field, at farmer’s markets, driven produce, ordered produce for a food co-op, and worked for a farm to school program on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota, helping Ojibwe Native Americans reclaim their traditional food system. Based in North Lake Tahoe for the past four years, Lauren is excited to move to her new homestead property in Nevada City, despite the higher temperatures in our area. She knows how to deal with the heat — her favorite hot summer night meal is a cold Vietnamese noodle salad, followed by a big piece of watermelon with chili and salt on it.
She is also excited to begin working with Sierra Harvest. “I love the mission to connect the community to local farms and to help farmers earn livable wages to keep farming viable, and to do it all through the lens of justice,” she said. “It’s not just about how great organic food is, but how organic food supports people throughout the process.” Welcome, Lauren!