Vanessa Garcia Polanco’s passion for food and agricultural policy arose from the influences of her community in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic, for whom “local food was not an option; it was the rule.”

After moving to the United States with her family six years ago, Garcia Polanco attended the University of Rhode Island to study agriculture’s impact on the environment. Concerned with the noticeable disconnect between food and its source, Garcia Polanco strives to offer a new voice in food and agricultural policy.

At the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group’s (NESAWG) recent conference “It Takes a Region,” Garcia Polanco lead a discussion with fellow emerging leaders on engaging and participating in the food system as youth. She was recently elected as Outreach Chair for the Rhode Island Food Policy Council.

"The efforts to humanize the food system must be led by grassroots communities as community members can more effectively define and implement long-term solutions to persistent issues faced by their individual community," Garcia Polanco says. "Sometimes, powerful groups within the food system can dominate a community rather than empower them. In order to truly humanize the food system, communities must be empowered to solve issues from within."

Read the full interview with Vanessa Garcia Polanco about leadership for better food systems at Food Tank.