Alida Peterson
Alida is the Food Systems Coordinator at Healthy Communities of the Capital Area and coordinates the Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network.
A native Mainer, Alida returned to her home state of Maine in the summer of 2023 after several years working in the Vermont food system in various capacities— from farming and cooking, to working as a Local Food Access Coordinator where she managed hunger relief programs and worked with charitable organizations to increase their local food offerings. Prior to this work, Alida served with AmeriCorps as a Farm-to-School Coordinator, educating elementary students through cooking and gardening, encouraging them to build a deeper understanding of where our food comes from and its impact on our bodies, communities, and ecosystems. Alida recognizes the inseparable link between these metrics of sustainability and sees great potential for improvements in our food system to influence social, economic, and environmental justice in Maine. In her free time, Alida enjoys crafting of all kinds (sewing, ceramics, stained glass, printmaking) and spending time in nature.
Sarah Sims
Sarah is the Food Systems Program Associate at Healthy Communities of the Capital Area and co-coordinates the Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network.
Before joining HCCA, Sarah spent many years farming organic vegetables in Vermont and California. Prior to relocating to Maine in May 2024, Sarah led operations at a food hub and organic restaurant in her hometown, where she connected families with locally grown food while supporting small farmers and producers.
With a deep belief in the transformational power of food, Sarah sees an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the state's health, food security, working landscapes, and local economy.
Sarah is based in the Midcoast area, where she enjoys growing food, cooking with friends and family, and exploring Maine’s beautiful natural spaces.
Martha Poliquin
Ashley Edmondson
ashley.edmondson@mainehealth.org
Ashley is a Program Manager leading the Let's Go! Community Intervention, an initiative within the HEAL Program at the Center for Health Improvement based within MaineHealth. The Let’s Go! program supports early care and education, out-of-school programs, schools, and school nutrition programs in adopting policy and environmental change. Ashley oversees the technical assistance, resource development & trainings for Let's Go! partner sites.
With nearly 20 years of public health experience, Ashley is a trained facilitator, presenter and project manager and holds a BA in sociology with a minor in holistic health from the University of Southern Maine. She lives in Portland, Maine with her husband, daughter and son and loves to hike, paddle board and play in the outdoors!
Katie Knowles
Farm and Sea to School Coordinator at Maine Department of Education, Child Nutrition.
Kristina Kalolo
kristina.kalolo@mainehealth.org
Kristina is passionate about working at the intersections of social change, sustainable food systems, and collective healing.
She is currently the Food Systems Community Partner at the Sewall Foundation. Most recently, she was the Program Manager for the MaineHealth Food Pantry at Maine Medical Center. She also worked as the Markets Manager for the Somali Bantu Community Association and oversaw the Cumberland County Food Security Council’s child nutrition programming.
Brittany Peats
Brittany works to strengthen farm to institution at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. She focuses on identifying the challenges and opportunities in the farm-to-institution landscape and how the state can support the development of this sector.
Brittany has a master’s degree in food policy and applied nutrition from the Friedman School at Tufts University. She previously worked as a program manager at the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, a statewide food policy nonprofit. She did research, coordinated networks, and led policy advocacy campaigns around reducing food waste, increasing food system education in schools, and supporting local food policy councils. She also worked at Project Bread, the City of Boston’s Office of Food Initiatives, and Food Link.
Brittany lives with her partner and two young children in Portland, where they enjoy biking, riding the ferries, and making pizza.
Sophie Scott
Sophie is a Sustainable Seafood Project Manager at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute where she works to get more underutilized Gulf of Maine seafood onto peoples’ plates. The goal of this work is to support an economically and ecologically vibrant seafood industry in the Gulf of Maine by increasing consumer demand for sustainable local seafood. She has experience in almost every step of the seafood supply chain, from cultivating oysters, to delivering shellfish, to serving Gulf of Maine seafood to consumers in some of Maine’s best restaurants, to working on her uncle’s boats mastering the art of baiting bags and banding lobsters.
Sophie has been committed to sustainable food systems for the past 15+ years. Coming from a fishing family, her undergraduate work was focused on sustainable food systems and ecological agriculture and in her decade as a waitress, she established garden plots at the farm-to-table restaurant where she was employed. Her graduate research focused on bridging the gap between science and policy and in her current role at GMRI she works closely with institutions to help them serve local seafood. In addition to her love of food, Sophie enjoys spending time outside – swimming in the ocean, cross country skiing, and exploring nearby trails with her family.
Mike Flynn
Director, Student Nutrition Services at Sheepscot Valley RSU #12
Melissa Motejunas
From the very beginning, Melissa Motejunas found her passion in hospitality, service, and feeding those facing food insecurity. Having spent her entire career in the food service industry, she rose to prominent management roles with top restaurants and chefs nationwide.
Before joining Harvesting Good, Melissa worked as the Procurement and Strategic Accounts Manager at Native Maine Produce. She led the company’s local procurement, advocacy, and community outreach work while managing a portfolio of more than 600 school, non-profit, and institutional accounts across Maine and New Hampshire. Melissa flourished in this space as she worked towards developing creative and efficient solutions to improve program efficiencies by prioritizing local foods, fruits, and vegetable consumption.
Melissa, a lifelong Mainer, has a deep connection and passion for education, children, and advocacy. She serves on the Network Advisory Committee of FINE, Sodexo’s Maine Course Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Maine Food Convergence and Maine Farm and Sea to School.
Anna Libby
alibby@mofga.org
Community Education Director at The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Rachel Solomon
Rachel Solomon joined the Maine School Garden Network in May 2022 as the Program Organizer. Rachel previously worked as a school garden educator and loves seeing spaces created for students to be outside and curious. Rachel comes from a long line of farmers in her family and has worked and volunteered on a variety of farms before finding her love for school gardens.
Robin Kerber
Robin is the Associate Program Director at Full Plates Full Potential, as well as the Sales Manager at Daybreak Growers Alliance. Robin grew up in Freeport where her parents ran a bed and breakfast for nearly two decades. It was here that her foundation of sharing meals with others grew into a lifelong passion for using food as a connection to community and people. She left Maine to study and work as a classically-trained pastry chef, earning degrees from the Culinary Institute of America and Drexel University. Since returning to her home state in 2013, Robin has continued to work in food systems, trying everything from dairy farming to selling seafood, always with an interest in expanding her skills and palate. Robin has worked in jobs across the food service and farming sector, all with the goal of supporting markets for farmers and producers while keeping local, fresh food at the heart of the community. She is committed to reducing barriers to healthy food and making sure that everyone has equitable access to food that keeps our bodies and environment healthy.
Robin lives in the Midcoast area where she is slowly, seed by tiny seed, starting a goji berry farm.