Meet Laurie Bauer, President of the Board of Directors, Collective Roots

It's been an honor to be on the Collective Roots board for the past four years. I am passionate about Collective Roots and what our programs represent to the community of East Palo Alto. I believe in our mission of educating children and the community about where our food comes from and how our interactions with the environment influence 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 influence the city’s food supply.

I’ve been working in East Palo Alto for the past seven years, previously as the District Nurse for the Ravenswood City School district and now with the Ravenswood Family Health Center. It was with my work in the schools that I became concerned about the childhood obesity epidemic, both in our nation and in the community of East Palo Alto. I spent 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.

My connection to growing my own food goes back to my grandparents' farms in Ohio and Michigan, and the giant Ohio garden my father tended as I was growing up. 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.

My dream is for the children of East Palo Alto 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 ripe from the tree, or sweet peas that are so sweet that they barely make it home from the market. Please help us make this dream come true – it’s way past time for East Palo Alto residents to have a source of fresh fruits and vegetables available to them in their community. You can be a part of making this happen with your support. Thank you.

There are many ways that you can join our efforts and support the work of Collective Roots. We welcome your involvement as a volunteer. Please review our many volunteer opportunities by clicking here.