It is our delight to introduce Alexander Warshal (he/him/his), SOFSA’s new Food Systems Project Coordinator! As Food Systems Project Coordinator, Alexander will focus on topics such as food rescue, farm-to-institution, farmer engagement, and urban agriculture. He is looking forward to promoting the accessibility of marketing channels for farmers as well as ensuring universal meals for all. Alexander has said that everyone deserves to have a good, healthy meal and plans to bring a human focus to the structural frameworks within policy making to achieve such goals.
Alexander has been surrounded by agriculture his entire life. His family has been farming in southern hills of Onondaga County for almost a century, originally as dairy farmers and eventually transitioning to the potatoes and other crops they produce today. Alexander has known of his love for agriculture ever since he was a child riding with his grandparents on their tractor. This love for agriculture followed him through higher education as he majored in Public Policy and minored in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at Michigan State University. In addition to farming, Alexander worked with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York for over two years.
Beyond agriculture and food systems work, Alexander spends his time with his girlfriend, and their stick-loving, 3-year-old chocolate Lab, Clover. You can find him either cooking (his favorite dish being a delicious, gluten free and vegan red pepper pasta), working on his photography skills, or spending time at his local church where he is a part of the Parish Council. If you get a chance to talk to Alexander, feel free to engage in a (friendly) debate about pickles!