During this season of giving thanks, I sat down with FoodCorps New Jersey alum, Lexi Mestas, who served with Cooper’s Ferry Partnership in Camden, New Jersey, and who worked closely with various community partners as part of the Campbell’s Healthy Communities Partnership.

Out of all the areas of FoodCorps service, serving in cafeterias and promoting healthy school meals has always been my favorite. Maybe it’s because, in accordance with the unspoken prerequisite of being a FoodCorps service member, I love food and will sprint at any opportunity to surround myself with as much of it as possible.

From the moment I began working at Philip’s Academy Charter School with ecospaces in Newark, NJ, I knew my service site was special. Rooftop garden, self-operated dining room and locally sourced menus, teaching kitchen: check, check, check! Hundreds of creative, enthusiastic and sassy students and their nurturing teachers: check and check! Philip’s had it all… well, … Continued