Farming in a “White Utopia”: BIPOC Farmer Development Coalition Strategic Plan 2022-2024

Born in Philadelphia, Isabelle graduated from the University of Chicago in 2020 with a degree in History and a minor in Human Rights. While at school, she wrote her B.A. Honors thesis on the insularity of Korean food within the U.S. as connected to U.S. perception of the Korean "Forgotten" War and in broader conversation with factors of imperialism, racism, and food scarcity. Last summer, Isabelle interned with the organization Real Food Media, where she helped run digital communications across multiple platforms to highlight the work of partners of the Good Food Purchasing Programming combating food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. She previously worked at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and at the International Rescue Committee; experiences that emphasized the necessity of situating those on the periphery as partners in community-building, research, writing, and considerations about policy.

In 1988, Interagency Food Bank and Oregon Food Share merged to become Oregon Food Bank, which distributed USDA Commodity Supplemental Food to over 200 hunger-relief agencies. Today, Oregon Food Bank collects food from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, individuals and government sources, distributing that food through a Statewide Network of 21 Regional Food Banks and approximately 1,400 food assistance sites serving all of Oregon and Clark County, Washington.