FLOOR MANAGER

Micah is the IA floor manager, which to her means moving lots and lots of boxes of vegetables, chatting with our members, and giving people food. She’s currently studying Design at Concordia, and she uses those skills to help with our social media, signage, and newsletters! She loves the community at IA, which is probably rooted in the fact that she describes herself first and foremost as a friend, someone who puts a high priority on loving people well. When she’s not keeping us all laughing at IA, she bikes around the city, screen-prints t-shirts, makes books, and eats a lot of breakfast.

YOUTH LIAISON

JD calls himself the “jack of all trades” at IA, and he really is! His main focus is youth integration, since he also works with the Connections program at Innovation Youth, and his heart is always in the kitchen. He particularly loves helping people gain new appreciation for the dishes they grew up with, and comfort with new dishes. Nothing makes him happier than to see someone putting their favourite flavours and tastes into practice! He’s a big guy with a soft heart, a self-described teddy bear who spends his time outside of IA with his wife and kids and his enormous horse of a dog, or coaching hockey, or playing music. He also loves a good board game!

COMMUNITY CHAPLAIN

Cal says that he “just hangs out” at IA, but his hanging out has a purpose: he’s a community builder who wants to help feed people’s bodies and souls. He loves the friendships and connections he gets to make and maintain every day, particularly as someone whose kids live far away from him. He sees himself as something of a fatherly figure (he’s not wrong!), and loves to share the joys and sorrows of all our members and volunteers. Outside of IA, he plays guitar, reads a lot, and takes long walks. Both inside and outside IA, you’ll almost certainly find him laughing.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

Christa is the gregarious titan of transformation, whose role at IA is to save imperfect food from the landfill, giving it new life to grace the kitchens of the neighbourhood. In the long term, her work with us will become the new edition of neighbourhood community kitchens - stay tuned! She loves reducing waste, experimenting with flavours and recipes, and seeing joy when people discover a new favourite dish. When she’s not leading the way in the IA kitchen, she works as a community advocate, representing the voices of residents to elected officials. In the interest of the flourishing of the neighbourhood, she particularly works on projects dedicated to affordable housing and green space. In her spare time, she loves to garden and dance!

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Erin is the operations manager at IA, which means she’s behind the scenes (and at the front desk at IA) coordinating with suppliers, partners, members, volunteers, and our very own staff. She loves building connections and relationships with partners, members, and volunteers, seeing the outcome of our work in more than just numbers. She’s passionate about food justice and sustainability, and her curiosity and vision are at the heart of everything she does. When she’s not keeping everything in order at IA, she’s a part-time student studying food security, a dancer, and a cook!