Kristin Blodgett (she/her) manages the Vermont Farm Fund, a non-profit loan fund for farmers and food producers that operates as a program of the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), where she was first Financial Manager and then Deputy Director. Prior to joining CAE in 2015, Kristin worked on land and natural resource management programs in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and served as Assistant to the Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security Open-Ended Working Group on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. Kristin was born and raised in Vermont and lives with her family in Monkton.

Jessica Freed-Haitz

Jessica Freed-Haitz, a Pennsylvania native, relocated to Addison in 2022 where she resides with her husband. Raised on a small farm, fresh produce and local meats were dietary staples. Respect for local farmers is engrained in her ethos.

Jessica holds an MBA in Finance, and built a career developing human resources programs across global markets in response to ever-changing workforce priorities. Concurrent with her work-life, Jessica and her husband raised two children, now adults, and made local CSA participation a priority early on to garner first-hand knowledge about the economic, environmental, and community benefits of local farming. Now retired, Jessica brings business insights to ACORN in support of its mission to support local farms and communities.

Neily Jennings (she/her) heads up finance and operations as one of twelve worker-owners who cooperatively own and manage the Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA). Prior to joining AORTA, Neily spent 5 years as Operations Director at Common Ground Center, a non-profit retreat center in Starksboro, where she still lives with her husband and their two young kids.

Neily's dedication to ACORN's work is rooted in her belief that we urgently need to democratize local food systems and land stewardship as part of a just transition to an economy that centers ecological sustainability and equity. When she's not in Zoom meetings, Neily spends her time parenting, listening to podcasts, reading, cooking, biking, and swimming.

Sarah Kaeck is the founder and former CEO of Bee’s Wrap, a sustainable, biodegradable alternative to plastic wrap for food storage. Sarah founded Bee's Wrap in 2013 after recognizing the need for an alternative to store fresh food without the use of plastic. Bee's Wrap grew to support distribution throughout the country and internationally and was sold in 2021. It continues to produce and distribute its products in Middlebury, VT.

Over the past 14 years, Sarah and her husband have raised a variety of animals and vegetables for their family of five in New Haven, Vermont. Sarah is passionate about striving towards living a sustainable lifestyle and helping others to do the same, while recognizing the challenges our current agricultural systems and lifestyles pose for us.

As a dedicated advocate for food sovereignty and climate-friendly agriculture, Emily is thrilled to contribute to ACORN's work to cultivate a thriving, ecologically sound, and socially just local food system. She is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at NOFA-VT and came to that role after having spent more than a decade in food systems education and community outreach at the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op. She engages in this work with the goal of both fostering a meaningful connection between producer and consumer and inspiring deep admiration for the hands that feed us. In addition to her ACORN board service, Emily is proud to serve as co-chair of the Addison County Hunger Council through Hunger Free Vermont. She and her husband tend a subsistence-scale produce and mushroom farm and a retail perennial plant nursery called Taproot at her home on Snake Mountain in Weybridge, VT. When she's not working, Emily enjoys skiing, climbing, trail running, foraging, fermenting, and experimenting in the kitchen.

Lindsey spent seven years in marketing, advertising and PR in the private sector before escaping the cubicles of New York City to find herself nestled in the vines of Mendoza’s wine country as a harvest intern.

What was meant to be a five month hiatus became a five year journey around Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. A transformative role at a Peruvian disaster relief organization convinced Lindsey to continue working in the non-profit sector, and time spent with a Guatemalan coffee cooperative, an Australian organic farm and various WWOOFing properties locked her into the food justice movement for good.

Lindsey and her partner Matthew founded a food education tourism project, Origins of Food, that reconnects people with where food comes from.

Lindsey joined ACORN in 2015 as the Director of Marketing and Development and has served as Executive Director since 2021.

In addition to working to improve small farm viability and food sovereignty, Lindsey is dedicated to further building community resilience through a number of side projects and initiatives. She also really likes growing things in her back yard and hanging on the couch with Matt and their three pets.

Abby Kelso is new Account Manager for the ACORN Food Hub. She works with retailers, restaurateurs, and institutional buyers to source the local food they and their customers want, tracking down opportunities for collaboration between producers and buyers, and teaming up with Jess Purks to make it all happen!

She came to this work by way of vegetable farming, and has long been fascinated by the strength of community encouraged by gardening and growing food for family and friends. Working in farming, it is frustrating to see food go uneaten or connections between farmers and customers stay unmade. When the opportunity arose to join ACORN, she knew it would satisfy her determination to increase distribution of fresh, locally produced food! Abby is inspired by the hard work, commitment, and conviction of the people she works with in our local food system. She also finds inspiration in the food that Vermont farmers produce!

In her free time, you can find Abby eating berries of all kinds or taking her new puppy, Scout, for adventures!

Lilah Krugman graduated with a degree in Food Systems from the University of Vermont in 2023. She first became interested in food as a tool for social change while working on an urban farm in her hometown of Atlanta, GA. Since then, her passion for food and its role in transforming communities has only grown. During her time at UVM, she had the thrill of exploring her interest in food and community both inside and outside the classroom. She is most proud of the work she did through her club, Food Recovery Network, which redistributed prepackaged meals to the campus community, and her senior thesis, which centered on the Addison County Farmacy Program.

Lilah began working with ACORN as the 2022 Food and Farm Guide Intern and Farmacy Intern. In 2023, she join ACORN full-time as the Programs and Outreach Coordinator. Outside of her time spent driving the ACORN Food Hub van, Lilah enjoys going to the movie theatre, walking with her dog, and lounging by fresh water of any variety.