[G]race Oedel, the incoming executive director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, knows she has a lot to live up to. On July 1, she takes the helm of an organization that her predecessor, Enid Wonnacott, nurtured from a small nonprofit with one filing cabinet in 1987 to a 20-person team with a $2.8 million budget.
“NOFA does such amazing work in setting an example for the whole nation by moving forward a just and sustainable food system, supporting small farmers and local economies,” said Oedel, who is now executive director of the Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington. “It has really set a high standard. That’s largely a credit to Enid Wonnacott’s leadership.”
NOFA, founded in 1971, has nearly 1,200 members and says it has certified more than 580 farms and processors to the USDA National Organic Program Standards. The group’s goals are to increase the amount of certified organic land in Vermont and improve access to local organic food.
Board Chair Andrew Knafel, who owns Clearbrook Farm in Shaftsbury, said the group is seeking to increase the market for Vermont organic products in Vermont and beyond. The group also carries out policy work on a national level.
“In a changing and unpredictable federal landscape, the national organic program is being less than fully supported and the national organic standards are not thoroughly enforced,” Knafel said. “Also funding for initiatives that benefit both organic farms and the consumer is erratic and unpredictable.”
The organic farming industry itself faces challenges as farmers age, and small- to mid-size farms struggle with global market forces that make it difficult to compete, Knafel said.
“With the consolidation of the marketplace into large retailers, it is challenging to break into wholesale markets,” he said.
Oedel and her husband previously operated Dig In farm in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, where they conducted farmer training programs for young women.
“We studied the intersection of social and environmental justice within the context of a working farm, and we ate food from our farm, we explored how did the food system work,” said Oedel, who has a degree in religious ethics and ecological theology from Yale University. “We can all be change agents in the food system. A lot of the women who went through our programs are now working farmers.”
Wonnacott retired from NOFA in December and died of breast cancer in January at the age of 57. She was seen as a national leader in the organic movement. Among other things, she worked closely with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to include funding in the federal budget to help farmers earn organic certification. Leahy’s office said organic farming is a $35 billion business in the U.S.
Oedel said Wonnacott left NOFA, which is based in Richmond, well positioned to push for a more environmentally and socially resilient and just food system.
“The acting director, Erin Buckwalter, has done a fabulous job of keeping the team really centered and positive, even as they are grieving the loss of Enid,” Oedel said. “The organization is strongly united, and in a position to really take the movement to the next level.”
