Recently, the IAA has been lucky enough to welcome two members to its already amazing faculty – including Meredith. Meredith will be the new Sustainable Agriculture Lecturer and Advisor starting this coming fall. Meredith studied from Maryland to California to Boston, but now she returns to help farmers in Maryland create sustainable agricultural careers. She comes to us locally having been raised in Montgomery County, MD and her passion for farming is nothing new either. With over five years of experience with organic fruit and vegetable production, we’re excited to see what she has planned for her time at the IAA – let’s find out.
1. Are you a short-distance or long-distance runner? Have you ever done a half-marathon or something like that?
I guess I’m middle distance. I’ve done 5k’s and 10k’s but nothing more than that. On the average day I run about three miles.
2. Describe yourself in three words.
Artistic, motherly and organized. I’ve been called an “obsessive compulsive,” “momma hen” before.
3. What is your favorite type of food to cook? What’s your go-to dish?
A vegetable lentil stew or a risotto. Everything that I cook starts with olive oil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I like things that simmer for a long time and dishes that are forgiving so I can add any kind of vegetable. I also have a food blog: www.harvest-spoon.com
4. What’s your favorite fruit or vegetable that you like to grow?
I love to grow beets. They have the most interesting and beautiful seeds and their colors are really vibrant.
5. What is one way we can all be sustainable?
We can all eat at least one meal a day that doesn’t have meat in it. Meat just uses more resources to produce than vegetables.
6. Why did you want to come back to Maryland?
I was coming back whether or not I found a job here. It took me leaving the state to realize I’m a Maryland girl. I love everything about the state – and I love my family and they’re here.
7. What has been your favorite experience in this industry?
C the certificate program in Ecological Horticulture at UCSC. I lived on their campus farm with 47 other students and we worked the farm. For six months we worked, took classes, cooked, and lived together. It brought us really close together. It was the most intense but also the most rewarding experience.
8. Are you looking forward to working in higher education?
Yes, I’m excited! I’m really excited to help give farmers a place at the table in higher education. For a long time it’s been written off as labor and not earning the same respect as doctors and lawyers.
9. What is your favorite part of sustainability?
Getting people excited to realize it just makes sense. It’s very practical and economical. Everybody wins, we just have to be patient and care about each other.
10. If you were an organic fruit or vegetable, what would you be and why?
My first thought is that I would be a sugar snap pea. I don’t really know why – they’re just sweet and refreshing and something to look forward to after a long winter. But I would also be a sweet potato because they’re bright and you can do so many yummy things with them. They sustain you throughout the winter and they’re always so eager to grow.
