Staff Highlight: Merle Pressler, Greenhouse Manager

Staff Highlight: Merle Pressler, Greenhouse Manager

Merle, as any Hudson Valley resident will recognize by her accent, was born and raised in neighboring Estonia County, about 3000 miles northeast of Poughkeepsie.   She learned farming the hard way; digging the always frozen ground for potatoes and rutabagas in her family’s backyard and working summers picking hops as a“Daughter of Lenin” in Soviet Hungary. As she will eagerly tell you, “it was either that or Gulag”.

Merle received a degree in Nutritional Science with a minor in Kalashnikov Assembly from Tartu University. Upon graduating she was quickly appointed Quality Kontrol Director for Kalev Kandy Koncern, the giant Estonian confectionary and maker of high quality imitation chocolates. While there she yearned to be working outdoors, to be "in nature with plants" as she puts it. She came to the realization that her love of plants stemmed from the fact that they don’t talk back. Likewise, her strong desire to feed the hungry was because “People don’t talk when they’re mouths are full”, adding “at least they shouldn’t”.  In order to pursue that dream she left Estonia, eventually settling in Poughkeepsie in 2011.

As luck would have it, in 2014 the PFP hired her mid-season to replace an ailing crew member. She felt immediately at home with the PFP’s collective spirit, long hours and rock bottom wages. Farm Manager Leon quickly assessed her superpower quality- O.C.D., assigning her the position of Greenhouse and Plant Sale Manager.  Soon, the coop and greenhouse were clean and orderly as never before, everything in its proper place.  While it did take a while for the rest of the crew to learn those places everyone agrees there's a lot less of tripping over things. As she stares resolutely ahead to her 2nd full season, Merle looks forward to the opportunity of admonishing all members, staff and crew who may cross her garden path. 

Staff Highlight: Lauren McDonald, Crew Leader

Staff Highlight: Lauren McDonald, Crew Leader

Lauren McDonald came to PFP to interview in the fall of 2014, and our decision to hire her was a no brainer; we wanted her on our team.  When you meet Lauren, you can sense the speed with which her brain works. She thinks and moves with vigor that is unmatched, and if you get her talking about farming, her passion and devotion are palpable. It is clear in getting to know Lauren that she brings this fervor to every aspect of her life (including contra dancing and fiddle playing!).

            Lauren earned a BA in Environmental Science from Williams College, where she was among a small group of undergraduates to devise and establish an organic garden for students. Upon graduating, she was driven to farming as a means to address environmental and social issues in a practical way. Her love of the outdoors, hardworking nature, and desire to  be a part of a community made her decision to farm the obvious choice. After apprenticing at Hawthorne Valley Farm for two growing seasons, and Crystal Spring Farm for another, Lauren came to PFP. Lauren’s aptitude for farming is demonstrated in her unwearied determination on even the cruelest heat of summer days. She set the pace for accelerated tasks and efficient transitions this past season. In addition to her impassioned presence on the farm, Lauren demonstrated her sincere dedication to PFP’s mission in her role as Food Share Manager.  She formed strong relationships with our emergency food provider partners, and often volunteered with them on her days off. We are honored to share that she will be returning to the farm to work as Crew Leader, a new position that will foster her growth into a management role. 

PFP Internship Leads to Change of Plans

PFP Internship Leads to Change of Plans

By Ellie Marble, Education Intern

If anyone had asked me a year ago what I was planning on doing after graduating from Vassar College, I would have laughed nervously and changed the subject. After a year of interning with foster care social workers, I felt stuck on a path that did not feel genuine to me. The truth was that I had no idea what I was really passionate about. I hadn’t considered the possibility of changing my mind, not going to grad school for social work, and doing something altogether different…. Then, last semester I saw that there was an opening to be an education intern at Poughkeepsie Farm Project. When I saw this, I realized that I had been itching for the outdoors and to work with kids in more constructive and fun ways than I had been for the past year, and so I jumped at the opportunity. I am so unbelievable grateful that I did.

I have learned so much during my short time with PFP about the Poughkeepsie community; being an educator; the connections between food, community, and justice; and of course, myself. This is what I am passionate about: being a part of a community that works together to nourish each other’s bodies and minds. Working with PFP has deeply influenced how I have decided to finish my time at Vassar. My focus has shifted to taking classes that discuss issues of environmental racism, accessibility and equitable education. I still tremble slightly when the question of post-college life comes up, but I am much more confident today than I have ever been that I am on the right path.

I am currently a senior Educational Studies major and am in the process of writing a thesis that examines food justice in Poughkeepsie City School Districts. What I hope to bring to the discussion of food injustice in America is a case study of how food and education can act together to promote a more community-based and equitable society. Through the framing of just food and education as human rights, I plan to investigate how Poughkeepsie City School Districts and community organizations are working together to promote positive community cooperation, sustainable models of health, and secure and informed relationships to local food. I plan to challenge the history of food politics in the United States to examine the reasons why the food system is enmeshed with the intersections of multiple structural oppressions and how community members and grassroots organizations can work together to reclaim the environmental and food sovereignty that was systematically stripped from them. In looking at Poughkeepsie Farm Project and other local organizations working to promote a just food system for Poughkeepsie, I will assess the tensions that operate to promote and prevent the actualization of just food practices in public schools in order to discover ways to strengthen togetherness in the fight for everyone’s right to nutritious, affordable, and fair food.

Staff Highlight: Ellie Limpert, Education Manager

Staff Highlight: Ellie Limpert, Education Manager

Hailing from Syracuse, educated in Ithaca, and previously employed in New York City, Ellie Limpert believes her love affair with New York State has truly blossomed upon discovering the Hudson Valley. After earning a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, NYC proved to be an incredible atmosphere for Ellie to utilize her Nutrition and Public Health degree, while immersing herself in the farm-to-school and sustainable agriculture movement. She served as a nutritionist for the NYC Department of Health, as well as a garden teacher at Edible Schoolyard NYC, and research assistant for a USDA funded study on school gardens at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Ellie began her work for PFP as a full season farm apprentice in 2014. Inspired by the power that a local farm can bring to a community, it was her goal to learn the trade of farming in order to facilitate the growth of more community based farms and edible gardens throughout the state. What Ellie found in PFP and the community of Poughkeepsie was much more moving than she could have imagined. To put it lightly, she fell in love, and decided to put her graduate school plans on hold to continue contributing her knowledge and enthusiasm to the growth and advancement of PFP’s mission. Ellie embodies what it means to be a passionate leader, go-getter, and dedicated heroine of a healthier Poughkeepsie. This season she brought her refreshing vision and contagious enthusiasm to her management of seven education programs, eight interns, and numerous outreach events. We applaud her dedication and are honored to have her continue on as Education Manager in the 2016 season.