Director of Programs for Virginia Community Food Connections Beth Austin is the Director of Programs for Virginia Community Food Connections and oversees development and operations of VCFC’s Virginia Fresh Match, Veggie Voucher, and Farm to Pantry programs. Beth is a former farmers market manager and has a master’s degree in Nutrition and Integrative Health. She [...]

Director of Programs, Shalom Farms Alistar Harris is a food systems change worker investing in practices which center liberation and collaboration. As an immigrant to the U.S., he places high value on diverse views, curiosity, and openness to change. He has a background in experiential learning, leadership development, agricultural food production, and network building. As [...]

Virginia Fresh Match Director of Operations Sam Hedges graduated from the University of the South with a BA in Religion and zero essential food skills. He found himself working on educational farms, restaurants, kitchens, and organic veggie farms in the ensuing decade, and, by the time he came to Virginia Fresh Match, knew a lot [...]

Virginia Fresh Match Director of Advocacy Elizabeth Borst has been a leader in food access programs and food system partnerships in Virginia for 14 years. As one of the state’s early nutrition incentive practitioners, Elizabeth helped develop Virginia Fresh Match, Virginia’s statewide Nutrition Incentive Network working alongside Maureen McNamara Best at LEAP. She is also [...]

Executive Director of Blue Ridge Literacy Dr. Ahoo Salem is the Executive Director of Blue Ridge Literacy (BRL), a non-profit organization housed in the Roanoke Main Library Building that offers adult literacy services to foreign and native-born residents of Roanoke Valley. As a sociologist with a passion for integration initiatives, Ahoo is especially interested in [...]

Community Engagement, Partnership, and Program Manager at Virginia Tech’s Reynolds Homestead Sarah Wray serves as the Community Engagement, Partnership, and Program Manager at Virginia Tech’s Reynolds Homestead and is a board member and past president of One Family Productions, an organization that frequently utilizes the Farmers’ Market for programming. Her outreach and service centers around [...]

Executive Director, Patrick County Chamber of Commerce Rebecca Adcock is the executive director of the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce and a current member of Stuart Town Council. Her passion for connecting and educating the public on the importance of community space and access to locally produced items is a driving force for her work [...]

Healthy Food Access Coordinator, Maryland SNAP-Ed Jocelyn Tidwell earned her Master’s in Adult Education from Seattle University and spent six seasons full-time farming and developing farm-based education and food access programs. She has traveled and worked internationally as an instructor and programs consultant. In 2023, she joined Maryland SNAP-Ed as the statewide Healthy Food Access [...]

Senior Bookkeeper, Tatum Accounting Sam has over 16 years of experience in accounting and finance. She specializes in analyzing numbers, optimizing accounting systems, and streamlining financial processes which allows for a better understanding where a business can be more profitable and efficient. She's been with T&O since 2023 and prides herself on finding efficiencies for [...]

SNAP Community Engagement team, Virginia Department of Social Services Claudia Jackson began working at VDSS in 2008 as the SNAP Outreach Coordinator and later became SNAP Program Manager before retiring in 2020. She returned to VDSS in 2022 as part of the SNAP Community Engagement team which works with community partners to promote SNAP and [...]