- WHO IS ORIGINS OF FOOD? -
Lindsey Berk and Matthew Orchard are the duo behind Origins of Food. After years of traveling, working and volunteering through twelve countries and three continents, their passion for food and their desire to show the world how our food is produced has driven them to create Origins of Food in 2014.
MATTHEW ORCHARD
Growing up, Matt didn't realize his family weekends picking blackberries and winters preserving fruit were shaping his future self. When he booked a flight to Latin America he was similarly unaware of what an impact traveling and cultural immersion would have on his outlook and ethic.
In Peru he volunteered with disaster relief organization Pisco Sin Fronteras, where he was inspired by the force of collaborative teamwork, and more importantly, by the Peruvian people’s will and community strength in moving forward. This experience encouraged a journey of exploration that lasted four years and took him across the globe experimenting with farming, appropriate technologies, sustainable construction and food production.
It soon became obvious that the skills learnt from living and working with diverse communities and organizations are transferrable into a business focused on a passion for food education and community building. Origins of Food is a direct response to that realization.
LINDSEY BERK
Lindsey spent seven years in marketing, advertising and PR in the private sector, and in 2011 escaped 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 four year journey around Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. A life-changing role at a Peruvian disaster relief organization convinced Lindsey to continue working in the non-profit sector, and experiences working with a Guatemalan coffee cooperative and many WWOOFing farms locked her into the good food movement for good.
The widespread culture's increasing disconnect from land and nature inspired Lindsey and Matthew to form Origins of Food and reconnect people with where food comes from.
When not organizing a food adventure, Lindsey can be found mountainside, hiking or snowboarding, or enjoying down time with two cats and a stack of books. Lindsey also serves as the Executive Director of non-profit ACORN, dedicated to strengthening the local food system in Vermont's Champlain Valley.
- A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE -
Origins of Food follows the ideals and ethics that other organizations, such as those belonging to benefit corporations, may include in their own ethos. We are dedicated to considering our society and the environment in our decision making process rather than being a bottom-line, profits-driven company.
By collaborating with and supporting various small food producers and food justice organizations, Origins of Food will promote socially-driven advocacy and effect change through farm and production tours, hands-on workshops, stimulating discussions and collaborative partnerships.
- ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY -
Origins of Food is a Vermont Green Business and is committed to protecting the environment, the health and safety of our employees, and the communities in which we conduct our business. It is our policy to seek continual improvement throughout our business operations to lessen our impact on the local and global environment by conserving energy, water and other natural resources; reducing waste generation; recycling and; reducing our use of toxic materials. We are committed to environmental excellence and pollution prevention, meeting or exceeding all environmental regulatory requirements, and to purchasing products which have greater recycled content with lower toxicity and packaging, that reduce the use of natural resources. We are also committed to off-setting our carbon footprint by supporting reforestation efforts for each program we run.
