Chair: Allison Dehonney

Vice Chair: Antonina Simeti

Recording Secretary: Sarah Herbst

Corresponding Secretary: Open

Treasurer: Rob Free

Members:

Kelly J. Asher, MS: Erie County Health Department Liaison/Alternate Member

Kelly earned her MS in 1998 from The University at Buffalo. Ms. Asher began working for Erie County in the Department of Health as a Public Health Educator in 2002, in 2010 she was transferred to the Department of Senior Services where she served as the Health Promotions Coordinator until 2014, when she transferred back to the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH), where she now serves as the Community Coalition Coordinator, overseeing the Community Wellness Division’s numerous community wellness initiatives. ECDOH has long recognized the relationship between an equitable and just local food system and the community’s health. In 2016 Ms. Asher was appointed to serve as the representative for the Erie County Department of Health on the Food Policy Council. Ms. Asher served as a full member until August 2019, when she appointed Michael Chase, a member of the Community Wellness staff to serve as a primary member for the Department of Health. To ensure that a member of the Erie County Department of Health is always in attendance at meetings, Ms. Asher continues to serve as a liaison and backup to Michael Chase.  Ms. Asher has a diversity of experience and coordinates several health initiatives with community organizations throughout the county.

Sheila Bass: (2020 – Present) Cornell Cooperative Extension Representative

Brandyn Berry: (2020 - Present) 

Daniel Castle: (2019 – Present) Erie County Department of Environment and Planning

Daniel, AICP, brings 35 years of planning experience in the public and private sector, as well as a local municipal planning official.  Mr. Castle is currently the Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development with the Erie County Department of Environment & Planning.  In this role, he oversees the Division of Planning, the Community Development Block Grant Program, the County’s Office of GIS, the Department of Economic Development, and the Erie County Office of Agriculture.  He is a member of the Erie County Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board and the Buffalo-Erie County Greenway Fund Standing Committee.   Prior to joining Erie County, Dan worked for the environmental consulting firm of Ecology & Environment, Inc., where he worked on a wide range of environmental planning, brownfield development, ecological restoration, and permitting projects across the US and internationally.  He left as Vice President of Business Development in 2019.

Tanya Carney: (2020 - Present) Cooperative and Local Food Advocate 

Tanya is a Store Operations Manager at the Lexington Cooperative Real Foods Market located in the city of Buffalo with a focus on local, seasonal and organic food. As an employee and member-owner of a cooperative grocery store, she is passionate about serving the community by fostering strong local food systems and cooperative organization. Tanya has 14 years of food/retail experience and 5 years of operational management experience. She graduated from Buffalo State College in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Anthropology and an interdisciplinary minor in The Understanding of Community, Diversity and Peace. 

Allison DeHonney: (2018 – Present) Consumer Advocate Seat 

Allison has 20 years of professional service in key areas of Executive leadership, Project Management and Business Development.

She has spearheaded four business endeavors; the latest of which is Urban Fruits & Veggies LLC. & Buffalo Go Green Inc. which is a non-profit organization. Urban Fruits & Veggies (UFV) has been in operation for three years and is involved in several projects throughout the city of Buffalo. UFV has an urban farm, mobile produce market that services food desert areas and underserved communities bringing access to healthy fruits & vegetables and nutrition education, we sell at local farmers markets weekly from June to October, we have a corporate wellness division where we imbed our services into local companies and universities corporate wellness programs, programing for elementary and high school students where we teach nutrition education and farming.

Allison holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Business Management both from Medaille College. Currently a graduate candidate: Certified Plant Based Chef & Culinary Rx. from Rouxbe Cooking School March 2018. Elected to the Erie County Food Policy Council and Nominated to be a Champion in the 2018 Champions for Change One Region Forward with University of Buffalo. 

Robert Free: (2013 – Present) Board of Health Representative

Rob has worked in the food service industry for over 25 years. He has experience in a myriad of food service business models ranging from concessions operations, quick serve casual, to white linen table service.

Rob has been with the Buffalo Bisons for over 12 years and currently serves as Vice President, Food and Beverage, Rich Baseball Operations. In this role he has oversight of food and beverage processes for Bison Baseball, Canalside, the Outer Harbor, and Broderick Park. 
He also serves as Treasurer on the state board of the New York State Restaurant Association, and is a past two-term President of the WNY Chapter of the Association.

In addition, Rob is a member of the board of advisors for the Brewing Science and Service program at Erie Community College and also serves on the advisory council for Access Buffalo, a coalition of businesses and volunteers which provides useful information about accessibility-friendly features in entertainment venues, hotels, and restaurants located across Western New York.

Rob lives in Hamburg with his wife Tracey and their children Thomas and Carolanne.

Sarah Gatti: (2019 – Present) Erie County Department of Enviornment and Planning, Office of Agriculture

Sarah is a Senior Planner focusing on agricultural and farmland protection at the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning. Prior to working in Erie County, Sarah was a Planner in Orleans County where she spearheaded a Local Foods Map to better connect consumers with producers. Sarah holds a BS in Urban and Regional Analysis from Buffalo State College where she graduated summa cum laude in 2016 and lives in the Elmwood Village with her dog, Buffy. 

Julia Gruspier: (2020– Present) Erie County Health Department Liaison

Julia Gruspier is a Public Health Educator for the Erie County Department of Health. She earned her master’s degree in public health in 2018 from The George Washington University. As an undergraduate, she received her B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Economics from University at Buffalo.

She has worked for Erie County Department of Health since 2016. She previously worked as an Investigating Public Health Sanitarian, conducting inspections of restaurants, pools, and other permitted facilities in Erie County. She changed positions in October of 2020 to become a Public Health Educator, where she works with community organizations on subject matters related to food and healthful eating, maternal and child health, physical activity, and wellness overall. She also assists with COVID-related work for the county such as data entry for Epidemiology and Vaccination POD’s.

Sarah Herbst: (2018 – Present) Sustainable Public Procurement Representative 

Sarah aims to develop innovative solutions to creating a community based-food system that delivers healthy and nutritious food and diets, while protecting and restoring the natural environment and ensuring decent livelihoods is a top goal here in Erie County. 

She received a Master of Science Degree from Michigan State University in the Integrated Natural Resource Management arena. Sarah has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the State University of New York School of Environmental Science and Forestry in the field of Environmental Biology and Biophysical Economics.  Currently Sarah is a Global Ethical Sourcing Manager at Perrigo Company and has been in this role for 5 plus years working on various sustainable supply chain initiatives. 

Joseph Kurtz: (2020 - Present)

Beth Machnica: (2018 – Present) Public Health Dietitian and Institutional Representative 

Beth is the Healthy Communities Catalyst for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Her work aims to increase access to locally produced, fresh, quality foods that are economically and culturally appropriate among medical campus patients, employees, visitors and community members of surrounding neighborhoods. Beth strategizes local procurement among medical campus institutions, local schools, workplaces, and communities and advocates for healthy foods throughout the city of Buffalo. This is accomplished through community partnerships and collaboration, as well as coordinating the work of a series of work councils to address this work collectively. Prior to her role at the medical campus, Beth was a Research Associate at the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab at the University at Buffalo, where she conducted a variety of public health research projects with focus areas including youth engagement in urban agriculture and strategizing Safe Routes to School for Amherst youth. In her spare time, Beth enjoys being in the great outdoors hiking, kayaking, and walking her dog.

Elias Martinez: (2020 - Present)

Della Miller: (July 2016 – Present) Consumer Advocate

Della is a professional food and beverage consultant and culinarian and has consulted on numerous projects advising new and existing food businesses. In addition, her services include public and private workplace wellness programs, healthy eating classes, food demonstrations and special events.

Currently, she is the owner of Foodlink716, a consulting company to commercial kitchen operators and other food related businesses. She has extensive experience in the areas of food and nutrition which includes organizing food co-operatives and gardens in Buffalo, directing food and nutrition education campaigns to 23 counties in New York State. In addition, as Food and Nutrition Specialist, she trained food service staff and managed 21 food service kitchens in Erie County serving, 2,100 Head Start children and families.

Ms. Miller has received numerous awards and recognition honors including, 2 consecutive years as “Best Nutrition Display” award for Tops Market Food Expo. She is a Champion of Change with One Region Forward/University of Buffalo and Citizen Planning School graduate.

Ms. Miller’s latest accomplishment is the Overall Grand Prize Winner of the Design to Live Suitability Competition. She also completed the 2016 Broadway Market’s Commercial Kitchen Operation Plan and Incubator for the city of Buffalo. Ms. Miller has past and present affiliation with several professional, health and community organizations. Ms. Miller is a graduate of Empire State College.

Kathleen Peterson: (2013 – Present) Municipal Representative 

Kathleen is the Market Manager/Food Enterprise Coordinator for the City of Buffalo’s Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning. Broadway Market Manager. Previous work experience includes executive director of the Parkside Community Association, program director Clarkson Center, Inc. and Northwest Buffalo Community Center. Master Degree Villanova University, Undergraduate Degree SUNY College at Buffalo.

Antonina Simeti:  (2018 – Present) Consumer Advocate Seat 

Antonina is an urbanist focused on environmentally and economically sustainable development, working across sectors to support health and wellness for individuals, neighborhoods and the environment. Antonina simultaneously serves as the Executive Director of the Western NY Environmental Alliance – a coalition of over 80 NGOs working to put the environment at the front of decision-making and planning in Western NY – and Groundwork Buffalo, where she works to engage residents, especially youth, in environmental conservation and restoration efforts, including urban agriculture, in Buffalo and beyond. Antonina is also the co-founder of Timbre Consultants, a team of urban planners that have worked on climate justice, food supply planning, and healthy communities initiatives in Buffalo. Antonina has experience collaborating with diverse organizations, and has worked closely with stakeholders including government agencies, elected officials, community-based organizations, business leaders, cultural institutions, designers and educators. Simeti holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tufts University and a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bryan Strzelec: (2020 - Present)

James Strusienski: (2020 - Present) 

Xylina Ulloa: (2020 - Present)

Xylina Ulloa currently holds a position as a Registered Dietitian with Meals on Wheels a program of FeedMore WNY. As a Dietitian with FeedMore, the primary focus is working closely with homebound seniors to provide the appropriate nutrition therapy to clients, allowing them the tools to prevent and manage chronic diseases while remaining as independent as possible.  A Rochester NY native, Xylina relocated to Buffalo NY in pursuit of an accredited degree in Dietetics and Nutrition in 2015. She now holds an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America located in Hyde Park NY (2008) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from SUNY College at Buffalo State (2019). During Xylina’s time at SUNY College at Buffalo she actively participated in community outreach projects with the Civic and Community Engagement Center; she planned and led alternative break opportunities for fellow students raising awareness and seeking solutions surrounding the relationship between poverty and food insecurity. As a newly emerging Dietitian, Xylina understands the importance and is committed to community organizations, advocacy groups, education and outreach to increase healthy food access and decrease food insecurity in local communities.

Patricia Watson: (July 2016 – Present) Consumer Advocate for Seniors

Patricia is a social worker who worked in community-based services for older people for several decades. Currently is the AARP representative on the Food Policy Council, she also serves as Chair of the Board at the Massachusetts Avenue Project and is on the boards of Hearts and Hands, Faith in Action as well as the Schofield Residence, Foundation, and Home Health Care.