Our Director & Board
Our Board is a group of volunteers dedicated to the mission and vision of the Northwoods Food Project. The Board sets goals and direction for our work, provides leadership for our working groups, and oversees our finances and administration.
Our Director leads efforts to grow our organization’s capacity to fulfill our mission of supporting a sustainable local food system in Cook County, MN.
Read on to get to know us and if you'd like to join our efforts, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScmteeNh4ewxH5IqpbQ1p5picAA9qrbnr1cWzBx0oeJp8zZeg/viewform
Carol Bennett (Secretary)
I am Cook County Master Gardener and I am an enthusiast of all things related to food: gardening, food preservation, cooking, and enjoying. My education and work background reflect these passions: retired assistant professor of nutrition, chair and instructor; retired Culinary Arts Community College director and instructor, coordinator of the Duluth Plant-a-Lot community gardens. I believe every person has a right to nutritious, quality food, preferably sustainably produced. I want to share my knowledge of gardening and cooking with others so they may have a more sustainable, nutritious source of food. The mission of NFP very closely with my own beliefs.
Erik Edgin (Vice Chair)
Marcia Eiynck (Director)
Boozhoo! Oshaawasko Binesiikwe indigoo. Makwa indoodem. Marcia nindizhinikaaz.
Hello! My spirit name is Blue Thunderbird Woman. I am bear clan. My english name is Marcia. I am a Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa direct descendant.
My passion for food sovereignty, security, and local food systems started when I was very young. I grew up on a small family farm and raised my children on a small farm of our own. I worked in Cook County, and for Grand Portage, in various roles during the Covid years and experienced firsthand the struggles of limited local, sustainable, and reliable resources of healthy foods. My biggest goal in this new role is to see rural communities come together and share all resources, get to know where their food is grown, and create a sustainable food economy.
Kristina Mattson
Dave Mills
Hartley Newell-Acero (Chair)
I was lucky enough to be raised in a gardening family, and I credit (blame?) Laura Ingalls Wilder for sparking my lifelong fascination for growing, foraging, and making food. I came to the Northwoods Food Project in 2017 as part of the job I held at that time. While I'm now a health coach in private practice (www.renewellresources.com), I've stayed on the NFP board because I believe that access to healthy food is a human right. It's an honor to be part of an organization that works to make this possible at a local level.
Rocio Rivas Silva
Melinda Spinler (Treasurer)
