Stefanie Stauffer has been a dedicated volunteer with our farmers' market since August of 2008. Originally from Boston, she spent her undergraduate years at the University of Michigan, and her graduate years in Santa Barbara, CA pursuing her PhD in Sociology. Stef came to Ypsi with a passion for this city, intrigued by the food progress happening in our economically depressed region despite a shorter growing season. She loves to hear the farmers' talk about folks at market dreaming of how they will use their purchases from the market in their dinner that night. Stefanie is also grateful to witness our community coming together to embrace local food, thus bringing better access of local food to all community members. She says: "in Ypsi there is this strong local spirit of people doing positive things for themselves in a fight against decay. Community spirit is alive and active."

The low cost of the DYFM and the focus on increasing benefits and access to those with lower incomes (an obvious vehicle for combating poverty) is exactly in line with Stef's studies. She looks at what role local food can play in combating poverty, and the impact of globalization on our local community. Local as a way to challenge hunger and poverty gives people something else to hope and invest in, and brings about a tricky question about consumption: why do people buy in the way that they do, and how does the availability of local food challenge people to change unhealthy lifestyle decisions? Stef is addressing these questions in her dissertation that she plans to have completed next spring! We are continually grateful for Stef's humor, her giving nature, and the great sense of levity that she brings to our group!