Community Food Systems Staff
The Community Food Systems team with K-State Extension serves as connectors and facilitators throughout the state to strengthen local and regional food systems by connecting communities together, providing technical assistance and targeted support to amplify existing and new efforts. We look forward to meeting you and helping your community cultivate your local food system!
Quinlan supports food and farm entrepreneurs across Kansas through one-on-one technical assistance, training, and value-chain coordination. Their work focuses on helping businesses navigate licensing and regulation, access capital, prepare for retail markets, and build resilient, community-rooted food enterprises. Based at the Douglas County Extension office, Quinlan also oversees the Culinary Commons Incubator Kitchen. Quinlan’s point of entry into food systems work was cooking in restaurants in New York City and at a culinary social enterprise in Brooklyn. These experiences grounded their understanding of food entrepreneurship in day-to-day operations, labor, and margins. That practitioner lens continues to shape their approach to business development and program design. On our team, Quinlan helps design and deliver statewide programs that strengthen local food economies, including the Kansas Food Business Start-Up Summit, Local Food Producer Workshops, and the biannual Kansas Food First magazine. Their work emphasizes participatory, relationship-based approaches that position Extension as a collaborative design partner rather than a passive content provider. Quinlan does a lot of our technical assistance with shared kitchens and is a great resource for that process.
With a deep commitment to relationship building, Jenny is able to connect food and farm businesses across the state. Jenny attended Kansas State University earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Horticultural Therapy and joined the Community Food Systems team in 2024. Before coming to K-State, she worked for the City of Lenexa building relationships with food systems collaborators and developing programs including the Lenexa Farmers Market.
During her spare time, she teaches sustainable agriculture classes for Johnson County Community College. Her classes include Value Added Food Production, Sustainable Food Systems and Honors Community Gardens. Jenny has a passion for making introductions for mentoring to take place between producers. On our team, she supports the Food Business Team and the Rural Grocery Initiative. Her food business work includes tailored assistance to small, midsized and diverse food-based businesses in Kansas. She can provide insights into the regulations and requirements around the retail side of your business.
Rebecca is inspired by any producer battling our Kansas weather and climate to produce amazing food. Her hobbies include reading lots of books, reading research journal articles on local food systems, and driving her kids to and from things around Wichita. Rebecca served as a Horticulture Extension Agent in Sedgwick County before joining the Community Food Systems team as a state-wide specialist. She has authored several publications providing advice and steps to achieve a successful home garden, templates for seasonal school gardens, tips for buying Kansas grown fruits and vegetables, and findings from the Kansas local food community roundtables among others.
In 2021, Brooke moved to Kansas to serve as an Americorps Member with Lead for America in the City of Wichita and transitioned into the Office of Community Services. At the city, Brooke coordinated city-wide neighborhood cleanups and championed the creation of the Wichita and Sedgwick County Food and Farm Council. Brooke also supported implementation of the Wichita Healthy Corner Store Initiative Program. Brooke's work focuses on amplying the stories and impact of Kansas' local food system connectors, wins and strengths, including the resiliency and determination of people on the ground lifting up their communities and reimagining the food system. Her goal is to tell a more cohesive story about what, why, & who we are serving.
K-State Extension Local Food Team
Other K-State staff also work on local food system topics, both individually and as part of K-State Research & Extension's Local Food Transdisciplinary team. This team is made up of extension agents, specialists, educators, and other K-State faculty and staff that have an interest in local food system work and may connect with it in one or more parts of their jobs. Our members include people that specialize in agriculture, nutrition, food safety, horticulture, health, financial management, education, youth development, and much more! If you're a wildcat & interested in joining us, please reach out!