Welcome Nancy Dundatscheck – PFI’s Membership Services Coordinator

(Editor’s note: Nancy officially joined the PFI staff in late July. She works out of the office in Agronomy Hall on the ISU campus where her phone number is 515-294-8512. Her primary responsibilities focus on managing the databases for PFI membership and farming systems program, but we know her many talents will exceed any job description we might concoct. Here she provides a glimpse of her eclectic personage. Welcome, Nancy!)

My roots are in the Northeast, and my first encounter with ‘agriculture’ was with a garden that would sprout up every summer in my New Jersey back yard with the help of my father’s spare time and Germanic hands. Somehow those bulk seed packets he’d fumbled with would magically transform so something fresh would almost inevitably accompany Sunday dinner.

Oh, those tomatoes. How could one forget those tomatoes? An Italian woman can do many things with this most sensuous fruit, and my mother was no exception. The arduous task of making pasta sauce, however, is the most tortuous of all, and in her later years, my mother would start to develop an intimate relationship with Signor Ragu. And a small amount of table sugar. (This was an affair my father would discover, but grudgingly forgive.)

My attraction to beauty and nature has drawn me to studies in the arts (an Applied Science Degree at the Fashion Institute, a personal passion for nature photography), but my idealism and rancor for injustice inevitably attracted me to the social sciences (BA at SUNY Purchase). The connections I saw between environmental problems and faulty social, economic and political structures led me to pursue an MA in Social Ecology at Goddard College. My previous work with non-profits such as Association on American Indian Affairs, Fellowship of Reconciliation, AFT, Bank Street College Environmental Workshop and Weis/Audubon Ecology Center reflects my interest in advocacy, educational programming and outreach.

Over the years I have come to realize that environmental problems are really ‘people problems,’ and that health problems are often caused by unwholesome food. I was excited by the idea that part of the solution could be brought about by bringing people closer to their food sources. Naturally I have been attracted to the CSA model, which I experienced firsthand at Magic Beanstalk CSA. I also apprenticed at a New York CSA farm through Americorps.

In addition, I am of the opinion that one should have one’s own hand in creating something healing for others, so I have studied Chinese Medicine (Midwest College for the study of Chinese Medicine) and am currently apprenticing part time with herbalist Pam Montgomery. I am working with herbs and learning how to cultivate them, using a friend’s land as my classroom. I also try to grow foods that taste good and feel good, whenever possible. So I am an eclectic mix of artist, social ecologist, alternative medicine researcher, and home-style gardener, while I have used my organizational, administrative, educational programming and development skills to assist non-profits in furthering their vision.

I discovered the beauty of Iowa while driving cross-country three summers ago. My first strong impression occurred along I-35 on a late August afternoon. I passed row upon row of sunlit, blessed corn. It seemed to never end. It awakened me to the reality of where much of the nation’s food comes from, and I was shocked by the immense technology that creates this food. (My relationship to Fritos and my morning sausage would never be the same!) But at the same time, I have been impressed by the incredible number of people doing the ‘right thing’ in agriculture, and what appears to be a growing, community-oriented movement in Iowa. I am excited to be here, and feel privileged to be a part of what PFI is doing. I look forward to aligning with its vision to help serve its constituents – the local and global community. I hope to meet many PFI members at field days and other future events.