NABC Wishes Happy Trails to Lucy Norris

We regretfully announce the departure of NABC team member Lucy Norris. Lucy has been an invaluable part of our staff the past six years. Lucy has had the opportunity at NABC to be a pioneer in food system development. This has created market opportunities for farmers in northwest Washington while increasing the availability of fresh local food to residents of the Puget Sound region. Lucy has also been instrumental in developing farm-to-table programs that are providing access to healthy local food for the under-served.

Lucy joined NABC in 2009 to help with research and development for the Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN). By 2010, Lucy was helping to expand the PSFN with a consolidated weekly fresh sheet and a wholesale market in the Skagit Valley and Seattle – which then led to the creation of North Sound Food Hub and 21 Acres Food Hub, which are now both part of the consolidated Puget Sound Food Hub. The Capital Press named Lucy one of the 2014’s Western Innovators.

Lucy’s focus at NABC has been to create infrastructure for the marketing, aggregation, distribution, and value-added processing of northwest Washington farm products. Lucy has helped develop important partnerships and created innovative models to help increase access to locally produced food for local food retailers, restaurants, and institutional buyers. This has expanded the market potential for northwest Washington farms. She has brought national attention to the Puget Sound Food Hub, traveling to conferences throughout the country to share experiences and best practices while working locally with farmers and other like-minded partners. Regional food hubs have the potential to increase farm sales, reduce costs and waste, address regulatory requirements, and improve food safety standards while increasing access to locally produced foods. Learn more about NABC’s efforts since 2009 to support the development of regional food hubs in Northwest Washington. NABC will continue to support the Puget Sound Food Hub by providing important technical assistance to farmers, including customized food hub management tools and strategic marketing assistance to buyers and sellers.

 
Lucy Norris is relocating with her partner and two dogs to the Bay area in California and will continue to lead the Farm to Table partnership with the City of Seattle on behalf of NABC until the end of 2015. We thank Lucy for her accomplishments and wish her all the best in her new endeavors.
To contact Lucy, please email lucy@pugetsoundfoodhub.com.