Gail Feenstra is the Director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program. She works with stakeholders statewide to improve the environmental impacts of agriculture, the health of rural communities and profitability for farming operations in California. She is committed to strong regional food systems, sustainably produced food that is accessible to all and equity and justice in the food system. Feenstra’s research and outreach has focused on farm-to-school evaluation; regional food system distribution; marketing opportunities for small and medium-sized producers and regional food policies. Feenstra has a doctorate in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

“I’m ecstatic to be part of this amazing Farm to School Evaluation team who will create a coordinated research plan to provide scientific data on the impacts of farm-to-school on climate smart farming, economic benefits for farmers and equity/access for students, schools and farms.  We have never had such a comprehensive approach to farm to school evaluation and the consequent policy implications for statewide investment.  As someone who has been involved with farm to school data for more than 20 years, this is the pinnacle!”

Dr. Feenstra will be responsible for oversight of all aspects of the proposed scope of work in collaboration with Food Insight Group and the project team to achieve project objectives. PI Feenstra will contribute to the overall design, coordination, and administration of the evaluation project, including the dissemination of project findings and submission of interim and final reports to CDFA.