The evaluation team brings together knowledge and expertise from a diverse set of fields to evaluate the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program’s capacity to support innovative local and regional farm to school projects as well as overall grant administration.
Bringing their unique perspectives to the project, the evaluation team will evaluate the grant program’s progress towards the goals articulated in the RFA and the Farm to School Roadmap for Success. Working together across a variety of impact areas, their research examines elements of grantee projects that have the greatest potential. They will identify enabling conditions for success, barriers to implementation, areas for additional and/or ongoing investment, and opportunities for coordination with related programs and agencies.
Tasked with providing an invaluable and rigorous evaluation of the return on the state’s investment in farm to school and providing recommendations for program improvements, the evaluation team also describes emerging best practices and lessons learned in CA farm to school interventions with a specific aim of informing policy.
California’s Farm to School Incubator Grant Program Evaluation Team
![A diagram showing circles with connecting lines to show the primary institutions that each team member is a part of. Starting from the top of the diagram, the connected circles are as follows. The Food Insight Group includes Beth Katz, Yasmeen Lee, Jessie Wesley, Debbie Friedman, and Eva Ringstrom. The USDA includes Ashley Chaifetz and Lacy Stephens. The Berkeley Food Institute includes Jeanne Merrill. UC Berkeley includes Timothy Bowles, Yvonne Socolar, Federico Castillo, Sayantan Mitra, Christy Getz, and Meg Resler. The UCANR Informatics and GIS Program includes Maggi Kelly, Chloe Faehndrich, Annie Taylor, Shane Feirer, Ben Satzman, and Andy Lyons. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources includes Gwenaël Engelskirchen, Karen Jetter, Hanah Shih, Kristen Farrar, and Gail Feenstra. There are some people connected to secondary institutions that are not described here.](https://californiafarmtoschooleval.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F2S_EvaluationTeamDiagram_030424.png)
Andy Lyons, PhD
“I’m excited to be part of the Farm to School Evaluation team. I’m excited to be part of an interdisciplinary...
Ashley Chaifetz, PhD
Ashley Chaifetz designs and leads interdisciplinary multi-year research as a Senior Analyst at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, mostly...
Beth Katz, PhD
“I am proud to be part of this strong, multidisciplinary team and am inspired by the holistic vision laid out...
Chloe Faehndrich
Chloe is a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Chloe’s research is...
Christy Getz, PhD
“I am incredibly excited to be a part of this F2S evaluation. F2S brings together so many aspects of my...
Debbie Friedman, JD
“I am excited to understand whether we are progressing towards the vision in the Farm to School Roadmap, and where...
Eva Ringstrom, MPA, MUP
Eva Ringstrom is Food Insight Group’s Director of Evaluation for California School Food Programs. She consults with groups, organizations, and...
Federico Castillo, PhD
“I am excited about this project at several levels: To learn how farmers respond and adapt to program incentives and...
Fiona Ogunkoya
Fiona Ogunkoya is a Survey Researcher at the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. She supports research efforts by designing,...
Gail Feenstra, EdD
Gail Feenstra is the Director, Emerita of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program. During her career, she worked...
Gwenaël Engelskirchen
As Sustainable Food & Farming Coordinator at UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (SAREP), Gwenaël Engelskirchen collaborates with a...
Jeanne Merrill
Jeanne Merrill is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Food Institute. She has more than 25 years of experience in...
Jessie Wesley, MCP, MPH
“I’m excited about the number of people that the California Farm to School programs touch. I’m excited to be on...
Karen Jetter, PhD
“There are many levels at which I am excited about this project. My main interest is in learning how this...
Kristen Farrar
As UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (UC SAREP) Communications & Proposal Coordinator, Kristen is responsible for coordinating SAREP’s...
Lacy Stephens, MPH, RDN
Lacy Stephens, MS, MPH, RDN, is an Agricultural Marketing Specialist with USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Lacy has experience working across...
Maggi Kelly, PhD
“Maps and geospatial data can play a supporting and important role in understanding the economic, environmental, and social impacts of...
María Villalpando
María is a PhD candidate in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) and part of the Critical Ruralities Lab. Her...
Meg Resler, PhD
Meg Resler works in the Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley as a Postdoctoral Researcher on...
Sayantan ‘Sunny’ Mitra
Sunny is a fourth-year Ph.D student in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of California Berkeley....
Shane Feirer, MS
“I’m excited to be part of the Farm to School Evaluation team. I’m excited to see how the Farm to...
Timothy Bowles, PhD
“I am really excited about this project because markets are one of the most important influences on how farmers are...
Yasmeen Lee, MPH
"I am excited to be a part of the Farm to School Evaluation team because we will be playing a...
Yvonne Socolar, PhD
Yvonne Socolar works at UC Berkeley as a postdoc on the F2S Environmental Team. Her research interests lie at the...