Staff Spotlight: Meet Jenny

Jenny lives near the Bay of Fundy in the Annapolis Valley and started working with Nourish Nova Scotia full time in December 2024. She loves trying new recipes and is looking forward to helping to create a new cookbook in celebration of school food in Nova Scotia.

What drew you to get involved with Nourish?  

I ran a restaurant, Union Street Cafe, with my family in the Annapolis Valley for many years. When we sold it in 2016, I turned to Nourish to help get a salad bar program up and running at my son’s school. The cafeteria workers and I began developing recipes that the students really enjoyed with Nourish’s support, many of which are now part of the Nova Scotia Lunch Program menu! 

What is a food story you cherish?   

All four of my grandparents were food lovers and I have specific food memories of each of them. Whenever I pick a raspberry, chop up my broccoli stems, or find a perfect avocado they are right there with me. 

How do you see young people helping to influence food systems today? 

Now that we have a new province-wide lunch program, I believe youth will help shape it, sharing their opinions and ideas for what they’d like to see on the menu. 

If you could wave a magic wand and have your dream come true, what would your wish be for the food landscape in Nova Scotia? 

I would love to see young Nova Scotians learning to nourish themselves from our shared forests, fields, oceans and rivers and stewarding them in return. 

Is there anything you love to grow or cook? 

I love perennial fruits and vegetables like strawberries and asparagus that come up year after year!