About
Our mission is to help our country move away from factory farming and towards humane, sustainable agriculture.
Greener Pastures is a blog, community, and activism hub in the upper midwest here to make everyday support of humane, sustainable agriculture easy and seamless with your lifestyle.
Because let's face it- we want our food and farms to be healthy, humane, and sustainable for farm animals, communities, and our environment. But the way our food system is set up makes that way too hard. So hard that we wind up buying factory-farmed products- even though we don’t want to!
Why is this happening? Surprise: because our food system favors (and has been shaped by) powerful corporate interests in industrialized agriculture that have stacked the deck against ethical farmers and community food systems raising food in the spirit of land stewardship, animal welfare, and community nourishment.
That’s where Greener Pastures comes in: we're your dose of inspiration, encouragement, and education for everyday support of humane, sustainable agriculture. We provide credible guidance on how to make food decisions authentic to your values so you can vote with your fork and feel amaaaazing about your choices. And we don’t stop there- we give you opportunities to take civic action to shape a better food system- one without factory farming.
So stay awhile! Check out our blog for the latest recipes, stories, and how-tos for eating authentic to your values. Learn what we're doing to help celebrate and support humane, sustainable farms. And get notified about the next opportunity to take grassroots action towards greener pastures. After all, it's going to take all of us at the table to move towards a more kind, just, green food system.
And we can't wait to do it together.
Meet our team:
Sarah Carroll, Founder and Executive Director
Sarah is a dedicated food systems advocate. She is passionate about animal welfare, the environment, food and social justice issues, and phasing out factory farms. After earning her BA at University Wisconsin-Madison in Political Science, she worked as an environmental organizer and lobbyist for a D.C. environmental advocacy group and connecting urban and rural communities with hunger relief resources at Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin. She also holds a Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. When she’s not working on Greener Pastures, you can find her enjoying the outdoors with her husband Sean, doing photography on a Canon EOS 6D Mark II, baking up a gluten-free storm, or snuggling with her adopted cat Andre The Giant.
Sarah Mulford,
Communications Manager
After graduating with a BA in Graphic Technologies, Sarah began her business Mulford Designs. Her freelance work has allowed her to develop relationships and passion for several 501(c)3 non profit organizations. Another organization that she is working with is the Twin Cities Recovery Project, helping them to better serve the community through their social media and marketing. With an eagerness to learn more about sustainable, humane, and just food systems Sarah is excited to join the GP team! When she isn’t working she he enjoys spending time on the North Shore and anywhere she can find Red Pines. Listening to the sweet sounds of banjos and harmonicas, hanging out with her two cats, and nonstop adventuring with her wife, Jess.
Cassie Rogers, Culinary Storyteller
Cassie is a Filipino-American advocate for sustainability and food justice. She graduated in 2020 from Macalester College, finishing a double major in Environmental Studies and Education with a concentration in Food, Agriculture, and Society. She has worked in food production at R&R Cultivation and Frogtown Farm. Cassie brings a love of local and foraged ingredients combined as well as her cooking and catering experience with The Sioux Chef and Sooki & Mimi in the Twin Cities.
Zora Toles, Culinary Consultant
Zora is a Minneapolis native who began her culinary career at age 12 and quickly grew her passion for making tasteful, accessible, and exquisite meals. Zora has served the Minneapolis area with Appetite for Change and Eat for Equity . Through these experiences, she gained skills in leadership, communication, and teamwork which have only furthered her love for the culinary arts. She is joining us again as our Culinary Consultant.
Lou Wirtanen, Farm-to-Table Program Manager
From growing up in the wilderness of rural Alaska, to the ranching highlands of New Mexico, Lou built a reverence for nature early in life. Always the avid traveler, she has lived in and traveled to several countries, in search of connecting with people along the way. Now settled in south Minneapolis, she grows a regenerative food forest in her backyard and throws dinner parties for friends and family alike. She is looking forward to connecting with you at the next farm to table dinner!
Meet our Board:
Amanda Koehler (she/her/hers)
Land Stewardship Project
Tim Schaefer (they/he)
COPAL MN
Sadikshya Aryal (she/her/hers)
Margaret A Cargill Philanthropies
Nico Bacigalupo Zappia (he/him/his)
Katie Black (she/her/hers)
Kristofer Coffman (he/him/his)
Amy Covington (she/her/hers)
Stephanie March (she/her/hers)
Theresa ‘Cecka’ Parks (she/her/hers)
Sarah Carroll (she/her/hers)
Executive Director
Kelly Hallow (she/her/hers)
Jack McCann (he/they)
Anna Richardson (she/her/hers)
Maggiy Emery (she/her/hers)
Currently acting as our Interim Executive Director
A special thank you to the Sands Fellowship Program and the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management for their generous funding and support.