Vision:
We envision a world where food is a right and not a privilege.
Mission:
Our Mission is to create food sovereignty* by providing dignified access to local food, teaching nutrition and garden literacy, helping our community understand the economic benefit of buying local and providing skill development and meaningful employment.
*Food Sovereignty – is a food system in which the people who produce, distribute, and consume food also control the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution.
Purpose:
Farm Cafe wants to break the food insecurity cycle by providing nutritious, locally sourced food.
Who We Are
Staffing
At the Farm Cafe volunteers and staff work hand-in-hand. It is said that it takes a community to raise a child. It also takes a community to feed a community. We provide part time jobs for students and community members, summer jobs for students, and presently have two full time positions. We also work with and support many small business by buying directly from them, or helping them out with kitchen space and other needs. We believe that a friend in need is a friend in deed. The person who needs our help today, may be helping us in the garden or kitchen tomorrow or next week. For more information about volunteer opportunities, please see the Get Involved tab.
Meet the Board of Directors
Executive Director - Sarah MacDonald (Somerset)
farmtofeastcafe@gmail.com
Sarah (she/her) attended Dalhousie University, Agricultural College, to study Environmental Horticulture where she received her undergraduate degree and a diploma in Landscape Horticulture. She had begun studying Horticulture Therapy and Sustainable Agriculture when she started her family and homesteading. The last ten years Sarah has spent much of her career in community food development, motivated by dignified emergency food access and true food security rooted in education and food literacy. She is part of the Kings County Community Food Council because she believes in building a stronger food system and creating a vault chain across the Annapolis Valley in support of systemic change. Sarah’s dedication to the community has built many gardens and planted thousands of seeds in community spaces, schools and backyards. She believes no one can make a good decision on an empty belly, so she wants to help empower people to learn about horticulture, grow three own food and harvest overall wellness. In 2021 the Farm Cafe began, built from research around Sharing Our Ugly Produce (S.O.U.P.) program taking food waste and turning it into free meals, this is a social enterprise with a ‘pay what you can’ model.
** non-voting board member
Chair - Lisa Lowthers (Cambridge)
chairf2fc@gmail.com
A lifelong resident of the valley and an NSCC alum, Lisa (she/her) has three adult children and is MeeMaw to two grandbabies. She has invested the last 30 years – her entire working life – in business and community development. Through facilitation, training and counseling Lisa has helped develop many organizations and businesses, and currently does this for Common Good Solutions. She is a certified adult educator, an internationally certified small business counselor, and recently launched a national certification for community-based business developers. Lisa is eager to build sustainable solutions through Farm to Feast. Lisa also owns a small business focused on understanding personality and working from your strengths. As the inaugural Chair she is ready to rise to the occasion and is passionate about the work.
Vice Chair - Jessica Ward (Kentville) vicechairf2fc@gmail.com
Having worked diligently to become an expert in accessibility and inclusion over the past decade, Jessica’s (she/her) work, and leadership has brought endless benefits to the communities and businesses she has served. Building relationships with community members, businesses, and government agencies is extremely important to her. Gaining and maintaining a community’s trust, she says, “is how we create space for true impact to happen”. As a mother of children with disabilities and as someone who identifies with having an invisible disability, she offers a first-person voice to the conversation. From small business to NGOs, her management skills have been sharpened along the way and she is thrilled to be creating an accessible, inclusive and equitable community through her own company GroundWork: A Social Innovation Agency, one collaboration at a time. https://www.groundworkinnovation.com/
Secretary - Dana Copeland (Wilmot) secretaryf2fc@gmail.com
Dana (she/her) and her husband arrived from London Ontario in July 2020 and settled in Wilmot. She worked for Fanshawe College until her retirement in 2021 as an Employment Consultant and Academic Advisor, and also developed curriculum and taught part-time. Before that, Dana worked in student governance, and in manufacturing, wholesale, and retail environments in a variety of administrative and supervisory roles. Since retiring, Dana has sought meaningful volunteer opportunities in the kitchen at the café and on our board. She also volunteers at 7Arts Gallery and Makers’ Space in Greenwood and in leading walks for NS Walks in Kingston. Dana has a passion for social and economic justice and has engaged with many campaigns, including Indigenous rights and reconciliation, water protection, LGBTQ2 rights, migrant worker rights, anti-privatization of public services, gender wage gap/equal pay, and food security.
Director - Melissa Wade (Bridgetown)
Melissa (she/her) has lived in the Bridgetown area her entire life, aside from obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Prince Edward Island. After completing her BSc, she attended NSCC and received her diploma in Human Services Residential/Vocational Services. Since 2009, Melissa has worked for Mountains and Meadows Care Group, first as a front-line staff with Community Support Services, and then as Community Manager since January 2022. She has also been involved with Special Olympics since 2007, and been the Regional Coordinator since 2013. Melissa became connected with the Farm Café through her work with MMCG. Melissa and her husband have a hobby farm growing their own pigs and chickens, and laying hens to sell friends and neighbors fresh eggs.
Treasurer - Sharla Rolfe-Hunter (Kingston)
treasurerf2fc@gmail.com
Sharla (she/her) Rolfe-Hunter is a wife of 44 years, a mom of four awesome children, a grandma of eight, and has lived in the lovely Annapolis Valley for 20 years. She brings to the team; lots of energy and 25+ years of Information Technology: teaching Programming, Systems Management & Security, Logic & Problem Solving, and numerous Application/Software packages. When not spending time with family or teaching you will find Sharla volunteering. Over the years she has held many volunteer roles such as Leaders in Scouting, Guiding, Controller of Youth Activities, Sunday School Teacher, Math Tutor, Secretary of the Greenwood Amateur Radio Club, and a FIRST LEGO League Coordinator, just to name a few. She has been recognized for her commitment to helping others in her community, receiving the Medal of Merit, Base Commander’s Commendation, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and numerous community awards. Sharla loves a challenge and is always willing to help!
Director - Nancy Nickerson (Middleton)
Nancy Nickerson was born in Moncton, NB, in 1968. In childhood, she suffered complex trauma due to generational domestic violence. She spent thirteen years bouncing around in the foster care system and suffered from a lack of proper mental health and stability. As the oldest of four children, Nancy was learning to change diapers and provide the best care she could at the young age of five years old.
In adulthood, Nancy adopted two children and fostered 13 by the age of twenty six years old. Tragedy struck again when she was 31 years old with an attempted murder suicide by her spouse. Through all these hardships somehow Nancy managed to grasp at anything to cope.
At age 51 years old, as the world filled with the uncertainty of a global pandemic, Nancy was introduced to doodling by a worker for Chrysalis House. Doodling has been a wonderful part of her healing journey: it’s meditative, mindful and her go-to copying skill. Her motto in life’s healing journey is this, “No matter how hard things are, always show up. If you have an opportunity to receive a helping hand, take it, because if you show up enough you may, through your own life’s experiences and strengths, become the giver of that helping hand.”
Nancy continues to have a passion for children and sharing her helping hand and strengths to the warriors of domestic violence … to build a stronger tomorrow.
Nancy holds space for others who are on healing journeys at the Growing Bridges Peer Support sessions at Farm Cafe on Mondays at 1 pm.