Suzanne Walker Email & Phone Number

For a few years now, I have had the pleasure of working as a Program Assistant for the Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program through University of Georgia Extension. Working with UGA Extension has been a dream come true. Up until recently, I had not really thought that much about food other than what to cook or what to order while out. Food deserts and food insecurities were foreign words to me and did not really mean that much. For the most part, not much thought goes into how the food gets to where you are in the world. No matter what it is that you eat, there is an environmental impact of food. George Washington Carver had it right- the land is not a commodity but it is something to be protected- treat it well and it will sustain us. Dr. Carver’s mission was to help farmers grow enough food to sustain their families. He helped develop farming methods that would increase crop yields, safeguard ecological health and revitalize the soil. Over the last several decades, we have let Big Ag come in and destroy our lands with industrial farming. This has depleted the soils of important nutrients and has made Americans more reliant on the processed food industry. As a result, Americans are having adverse health effects that have had a detrimental influence on our health care society. Unhealthy eating may be economically cheaper in the short term, but with that are higher rates of obesity, increased prevalence of diabetes, and higher rates of cardiovascular diseases. All of these are preventable if we would only eat more fruits and vegetables. Working with UGA has shined a light on the need to educate the general public on these truths. Showing others how to purchase and prepare foods that meet nutritional, budget friendly and personal needs is a way of life for me now. We can help confront food insecurities as well as climate change, as they go hand in hand. Our communities are in dire need of locally grown foods. If we don’t take a stance now our children are doomed. Our communities need to reconnect with our food systems and bring back growing our own foods. It is not too late to teach our children the ways of sustainable farming.

Listed skills include Construction, Construction Management, Contract Negotiation, Budgets, and 45 others.