Melissa Hemphill - Secretary

Melissa's passions are all things food related, with a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Guelph and a diploma in Natural Nutrition. She helped to create Revelstoke's first community garden and establish the Local Food Initiative as a society, and continues on in a board member position. 

Melissa works to build socially just and environmentally sustainable local food systems within British Columbia through a variety of projects, studies, and collaborations. When she isn't busy tackling community food security issues you can find her in the garden, on the trails, or teaching her kids the wonders of the world.

Sammy Blair - Director at Large

Sammy has worked in many roles across the food system; in gleaning, food security, waste management, food education, and farming. She has a Master of Science Research degree in Integrated Land and Food Systems from the University of British Columbia. Sammy specializes in community-based work, and recently has been involved with developing school farm implementation resources for Farm to School BC and working as the food security coordinator for Land to Table's regional community food hub.  Sammy moved to Revelstoke in 2022 and is excited to work with the LFI to engage the community in our local food system. During her free time you can find Sammy gardening, skiing, hiking, and playing outside with friends and family.

Hannah Whitney - Director at Large

Hannah began immersing herself in Revelstoke's local food culture in 2017, when she moved to town from her home in Ontario. She worked as a farm hand for Birdtree Urban Farm as well as redirecting grocery store food waste through her work with the Food Recovery Program.

Being on the Food and Outreach team at Community Connections has caused Hannah to develop an equity lens when thinking about our community food culture. Creating a local food system that is both sustainable and accessible to everyone is a part of this. She loves food and the way it brings people together, but if we can't all access that passion then we must rethink our approach. Hannah began her involvement with the LFI in 2018 as the Farm Tour Coordinator and carried on in 2019 as the interim Executive Director. She joined the board in April 2020. 

Conner Platten - Director at Large

Conner moved to Revelstoke in 2014 with a background in nutrition and food science and a general love for food. Inspired by the local food scene in Revelstoke, she realized that food starts from the ground up and returned to post-secondary to get a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business from Dalhousie University and the University of Alberta. She moved back to Revelstoke in 2020 and is happy to engage in every aspect of the local food system. Her current work focuses on integrating agriculture into education and supporting agriculture and food business at every step, from farm to table. When she’s not working, you might find her on the ski hill, bike trails, or or putzing around the farmer’s market so feel free to stop and have a chat!

Claire Davies - Treasurer

Claire has over nine years of experience in climate change and sustainability as a federal public servant, academic, and organic farmer. As a policy analyst for the Government of Canada, she has supported the development and implementation of policies and regulations for federal climate change priorities across various sectors. During her Master's in Public Policy, Claire's thesis focused on identifying and reducing barriers to the adoption of agricultural nature-based solutions in British Columbia. Claire has also been involved in food security and sustainable agriculture systems efforts with organizations such as the National Farmers Union and La Via Campesina. During her free time, Claire can be found in the mountains or gardening in Revelstoke, located on the traditional territories of the Sinixt, Secwepemc, Syilx, and Ktunaxa Peoples. Claire began her involvement with the LFI and joined the board in April 2023, shortly after moving to town.

Kelsey Gasparini - Executive Director

Kelsey Gasparini, originally from Sudbury, Ontario, has been part of the Revelstoke Community for over 4 years now and has found her spot in the mountains. While completing her BA in Recreation and Sport Business at the University of Waterloo, she discovered summer job opportunities at lodges out west. This led to a wonderfully nomadic lifestyle until eventually finding the incredible community of Revelstoke. Her love for exploration and the outdoors resulted in a passion for the environment and a focus on her own consumption. Kelsey believes that individuals’ food choices are one of the most powerful ways we can help our planet and has utilized a variety of roles within the community to help share her passion for the environment. She loves to spend the summer months with her hands in the dirt or her head in the mountains, and the winter months on her skis! Most notably, Kelsey recently completed her goal of “30 summits before 30”, where she hiked, biked or skied up 30 mountains in 1 year!

info@revelstokelocalfood.com

rvacgarden@revelstokelocalfood.com

Isabel Kessi - Market Manager

Isabel loves food, anything from bigger scale productions to growing her own carrots in the garden excites her. Isabel is a trained Chef with a BSc in food science and technology. She immigrated from Switzerland in 2017 and now consults food manufacturers in BC. For over ten years Isabel has been selling food at farmers markets in Europe and Canada. Now market days are her social days where she gets to leave the home office and work with vendors to create a successful market.

When Isabel isn’t working at the market or at home you can find her in the woods, skiing, biking or walking her dog Yeti.

market@revelstokelocalfood.com

Bryce Borlick - Garden Coordinator

Bryce has been with the LFI since 2017, working at various gardens and farms around Revelstoke, and trying to avoid organizing volunteers. He's usually the only guy at LFI meetings so he's easy to spot. You can also find him collecting mushrooms that he never eats, riding various 2 wheeled machines, or sipping coffee at home instead of going to the hill because "it's only 7 cms and I don't go for less than 8".

Isaac Burkam - Compost Education Coordinator

Isaac recently moved to Revelstoke from rural Nova Scotia, where he grew up on an organic farm. Isaac has a masters of science in sustainability and business from the University of Leeds in the UK, as well as a bachelor of arts in economics and environmental studies from McGill University. Isaac is passionate about diverting food waste, improving the sustainability of rural Canadian communities, and helping people learn about the benefits of sustainable practices. In his free time, Isaac enjoys snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking, gardening, and cooking yummy food. 

compost@revelstokelocalfood.com

Sponsors

Carrot Level

Katie Lienhard - Youth Summer Programming Coordinator

Katie has worked in various health industries for nearly 10 years and this will be her 3rd summer gardening with the Revelstoke Community Garden. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition (Dietetics) from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Science in Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia. Some of her experiences over the years include coaching youth and adaptive sports, giving presentations on nutrition and wellness, educating post-secondary students as a teaching assistant, and conducting youth nutrition interventions and fitness testing. At UBC she was a Sustainability Scholar and volunteered at the UBC Farm. In her time at UMass she worked at a holistic health center, helping develop local farm-to-table menus and coordinating a farmer’s market booth. Most recently, you may have seen her working with Revelstoke After School Society!

beesee@revelstokelocalfood.com

The Revelstoke Local Food Initiative relies on Community Sponsorship to help fund our programs and advocacy work. We want to thank all our sponsors for their ongoing support.

If you’d like to sponsor the LFI please reach out to info@revelstokelocalfood.com