Our Team
Lisa Bean
lisa@cultivatefoodconnections.org
I am a city girl, New York City, specifically Washington Heights. In New York City I grew to love trees, they provided beauty and shade in a concrete landscape.
Iowa has been home for 30 years now. A new landscape to explore where farms are front and center. Overtime I discovered prairies, oak savannas and meandering creeks as well.
In 2011, I discovered the Iowa Food Co-op and a new way to shop. I could buy from local producers and read their stories on-line and quite honestly it changed my life. Food took on a new meaning. Food became more than something I ate; it became a vehicle for building understanding and community. Producing food on a small scale is a complicated and risky business. I have a much greater appreciation for what I eat and who grows it than I did before I found the Iowa Food Cooperative.
CULTIVATE is another vehicle to help share food stories and understanding so we can all be conscious consumers. Our bodies and minds will be healthier for it and so will the planet.
In addition to working for a better understanding of what eating local really means I enjoy spending time with my family and with our land. On our acreage in Waukee, we work on woodland rehabilitation, maintaining pollinator habitat and restored prairie. We share our space with 2 dogs, 4 cats, a handful of chickens, 3 alpacas, one goat named Stormy, and countless other wild creatures.