Welcome, Lauren Linekin!

After graduating from undergrad, I spent a year working in agriculture and outdoor leadership. I absolutely loved working outdoors and growing sustainable food to nourish our community, however, I still longed to work within the food system in a different way, and on the issue of food insecurity in particular. While researching organizations around New England, I found Lovin’ Spoonfuls and felt instantly inspired by and connected to its mission of bridging the gap between food abundance and food insecurity. I couldn’t be happier to be joining this team!

I became interested in food rescue after taking a Community Nutrition course at the University of New Hampshire with a professor that deeply inspires me, Dr. Joann Burke. In this course, we studied food system security, nutrition, and communal and national food supply chains. This motivated me to pursue a degree in sustainable food systems, and since then, I have always aspired to work in food recovery and redistribution.

I feel deeply passionate about sustainability, food, and the different ways food brings people and communities together. Having studied nutrition and food systems in undergrad, I feel passionate about food being fuel for mind and body. It’s vital to strengthening relationships and communities. I also feel passionate about being a part of a team and sharing thoughts, knowledge, and experiences with others.

My ability to cook food that is tasty and enjoyable to eat is 100% reliant on cookbooks! Though I lack the ability to be spontaneous with cooking, I would say my loved ones would give me a solid 7 out of 10 in my ability to read and execute recipes. My all time favorite side when sharing meals with others is this wonderful recipe from Andrea Bemis’ Dishing Up The Dirt cookbook!

Depending on the season, you would likely find root vegetables, greens, Hank’s hot sauce, berries, homemade energy bars, and in the freezer, green tea mochi.

My favorite childhood food memory is making homemade hot chocolate with my parents and sisters after being outside on a cold and snowy day. Though it is so simple and quick to make, I have such a vivid memory of how comforting and happy it felt to be there enjoying a warm beverage with them all!