Laurie Bauer Elected to President of the Board of Collective Roots

January 1, 2008 -- Collective Roots is proud to announce that Laurie Bauer has been elected as President of the Board of Collective Roots. Laurie has been Board Member for over two years prior to serving as President.

Laurie states that “I believe in Collective Roots and what it represents to the community of East Palo Alto and I am passionate about its mission and programs. I believe in our mission of educating children and the community about where our food comes from and how we interact with the environment influences our individual and societal health. I am particularly excited about our new emphasis on food systems change in East Palo Alto and our work to improve school lunches, start an East Palo Alto Farmer’s market, and study the city’s food supply.”

Laurie has worked in East Palo Alto for the past five years, previously as the District Nurse for the Ravenswood City School district and now with the Ravenswood Family Health Center. It was with her work in the schools that she became concerned about the childhood obesity epidemic, nationally and in the community of East Palo Alto. She spent the past five years working to bring in resources to the schools to improve physical education programs, institute health and nutrition education, and work with community partners to bring additional programs to the district.

Laurie’s connection to growing her own food goes back to her grandparents' farms in Ohio and Michigan, and the giant Ohio garden her father tended as she was growing up. Laurie shares her personal history: “We ate from the garden all year long – what wasn’t eaten fresh from harvest was frozen and canned to last us through the winter. I learned what food was supposed to taste like – a fresh tomato still warm from the vine, fresh-picked corn so sweet that it barely needs cooking, and tree-ripened peaches so juicy they were best eaten outside. My three sisters and I had plenty of summer afternoons shucking corn or snipping peas on the porch, but what we didn’t know at the time was that we were experiencing our connection to the land and the food that we ate. I’ve continued the tradition by having a home garden for the past twenty years. My new focus on sustainable and organic home farming has me now worrying as much about my compost and soil health as I do about my harvest.”

Laurie’s dream is for the children of East Palo Alto is “…to grow up knowing what food is supposed to taste like. Not the processed, nutrient-less, grease and sugar-laden food from the fast-food restaurants that are found throughout the community. But the amazing taste of a pear harvested tree-ripened, or sweet peas that are so sweet that they barely make it home from the market.”