FoodCorps looks to the future
Posted: April 11
By Creative Loafing
As the child of an immigrant and single parent, Sumer Ladd has witnessed firsthand the injustices of the U.S.’s deeply flawed food system, where ordering a Big Mac is faster and cheaper than making a salad. Thankfully, her mother’s Iranian heritage came out in holistic leanings, home-cooked meals, and a backyard vegetable garden. “Sometimes healthy diets can be a rarity for families that are low income, and yet I grew up with the idea that healthy foods don’t have to be expensive,” Ladd says. “When there is less fresh produce available, you need to get resourceful and seek out the healthy options.”
Inspired to help others do the same, Ladd studied agricultural communication at the University of Georgia and then served as a FoodCorps service member for two years in Georgia. Her first year of service was in Habersham County with the Northeast Georgia Farm to School Program. She returned for a second year to work with the Captain Planet Foundation in Atlanta, putting the blue-faced, green-haired superhero’s message of environmental stewardship and teamwork into practice with a garden-to-cafeteria program at local schools. Read Full Article