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| Natalie Fullerton South Central Chapter Coordinator southcentral.olf@gmail.com 402-310-0177 |
One of Natalie’s greatest passions is producing and attaining food sustainably. Having grown up in North East Nebraska she learned at a young age how to get down in the dirt. Helping raise her family’s garden every year was a great influence in her interest today. Being able to plant, pick, and process the food you eat is one of the most rewarding experiences for her.
This interest carried on into her college education. After attaining a B.S. Degree in Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Natalie was invited to work as a graduate assistant through Nebraska Rural Initiative where her graduate project focused on the use of high tunnels in Nebraska. The project aimed to connect with current or potential users of high tunnels to determine and produce resources producers would need to grow successfully in the structures. During this time Natalie became active in the Nebraska Local Food Network, a group of professionals and producers developed by Nebraska Rural Initiative. Natalie’s Masters Program was enhanced with a minor in community and regional planning which added to the valuable local food aspects in her program. In May, 2010 Natalie received her M.S. Degree in Public Horticulture Administration. Natalie now resides in downtown Wichita with her husband Andrew. She and her husband greatly enjoy the culture and opportunities the community has provided so far.
Natalie believes local food is an integral aspect in the future health of our economy in Kansas and nation wide. As the new South Central Kansas local food coordinator, she is incredibly excited to be an important part of Kansas’ local food movement.
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| Tracey Graham Twin Rivers Chapter Coordinator twinrivers.olf@gmail.com 620-343-4397 |
Tracey is delighted to be given the opportunity to help facilitate the relationships necessary to grow the local food movement in the six county region of the Our Local Food-Twin Rivers chapter. She has served on the board of the Emporia Area Local Food Network since its inception in Fall of 2008, and has worked with many other enthusiastic lovers of local foods to promote the production, processing, preservation, and consumption of local foods.
Her involvement with the Emporia Farmers Market evolved from market shopper, to board member, then vendor, then market manager, then back to vendor, over the past eleven years. Her love of great, fresh, local food made up for her lack of agricultural experience (she grew up in suburban Los Angeles) and lack of preparation provided by her formal training (Ph.D. in Geology, University of New Mexico, 1997) in seeking out and implementing programs and processes that positioned the Emporia Market to ride the wave of growing interest in local foods. Founded in 1982, Emporia's market has more than doubled its annual sales over the past 10 years. This winter's expansion to year-round has positioned the market for continued exponential growth.
Tracey also enjoys her part time position as Program Assistant for the Lyon County K-State Research and Extension Family Nutrition Program, teaching elementary school students about the benefits of healthy diets. She is also an active volunteer with Emporia Main Street and Lyon County Extension Master Gardeners.
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| Cole Cottin Kaw River Valley Chapter Coordinator ourlocalfood.krv@gmail.com 785-856-2623 |
Hailing from Lawrence, Cole Cottin obtained a BA in Anthropology from University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). She spent a year volunteering at UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems – a 28 acre diversified orchard, farm, and garden, managed using organic methods, that serves as an agricultural research and training facility. In 2009, Cole gained invaluable experience in post harvest handling and direct and wholesale marketing of meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables through co-management of Virginia-based local foods distributor Good Food Good People’s 350 member CSA fruit share, 50 member CSA vegetable share, two farmers market stands, online “virtual market,” and year-round local food distribution serving restaurants and retail outlets in three southwest Virginia cities.
In 2010, Cole returned to Lawrence with her husband, Dan Phelps, and the two founded MAD Farm. MAD Farm, named for and inspired by Wendell Berry’s writings about the “Mad Farmer Revolution,” produces garden starts and annual fruits and vegetables on several leased plots around Lawrence. They've marketed their farm products through area farmers markets, the local cooperative grocery store, and several area restaurants.
Prior to joining the Our Local Food team, Cole worked as Lead Trainer in The Merc Co-op’s produce department and was self-employed on the farm. She and her husband are members of a local growers’ collective, Growing Lawrence, and regularly participate in farm-to-school activities to help educate young folks about where food comes from. Cole loves nutritious, whole foods and takes great pride in her involvement with the rising local foods movement in our beloved “Sunflower State” – home to some of the best soils on Earth!
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| Julie Mettenburg Executive Director, Kansas Rural Center juliemettenburg@gmail.com 785-749-1031 |
Julie is a fourth-generation worker on the family farm near Princeton, Kansas, just outside Ottawa. Mettenburg Farm markets grass-fed beef and other products to consumers throughout the Kaw River Valley, including Lawrence, where Julie lives with her husband, Peter Burns, and their two children.
Julie received her bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and began her career as an ag reporter for Vance Publishing Corp. for The Packer newspaper, covering the fruits and vegetables industry; Super Floral magazine, covering the floral industry; and Drovers Journal magazine, covering the beef industry. She continued her media career in New York, eventually managing publications for a major health nonprofit agency. She received her masters degree in political science from the City University of New York.
As a freelance journalist and consultant, Julie continues to work in media and nonprofit communications from Lawrence. Several years ago, with grassroots demand rising for naturally raised meats and local foods, Julie and her family saw an opportunity to renew their family farm from a hobby into a thriving business and began transitioning to a sustainable farm system with direct-sale grass-finished beef.
Developing new sales channels and learning about non-industrial ag systems -- plus seeing a fifth generation gain interest in farming as a career -- has convinced Julie that re-developing robust local food networks is critical to America’s economy and security. She is happy to participate in this effort through her work with the Kansas Rural Center's Our Local Foods program. Julie continues to write for a variety of national publications and organizations; for more information, visit JulieMettenburg.com and MettenburgFarm.net.
