Event Recap
On September 24th, UMass Dining Sustainability hosted the first Dining for a Cooler Planet event of the Fall 2025 semester. The event, ‘Feeding the future: innovation, equity, and climate resilience in the food system,’ brought together an all-women panel of local food system leaders to discuss pressing issues within agriculture. Panelists shared stories of collaboration, organizational development, and strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Although the panelists brought their own perspectives, there were many common themes throughout the night. Panelists had a shared commitment to a food system that supports local farmers, produces affordable food, and is environmentally sustainable. They also emphasized that this is not an impossible goal— we have modern policy and financial models that can support farmers and consumers at the same time. Additionally, there is a rich history of local agriculture to draw from.
The menu featured delicious locally-sourced food, including Peruvian roasted chicken from Reed Farm, kale & sweet potato hash from the UMass Student Farm, wild rice with Mycoterra mushrooms, cilantro lime zucchini from Czajkowski Farms, and herb chimichurri with roasted tomatoes from Atlas Farm.
About the Panelists
Caroline Stone:
Caroline is a Junior in the Sustainable Food and Farming program. She is the Washroom and Food Safety manager for the UMass Student Farm and co-president and board member of the UMass Food Recovery Network. She is enrolled in the Community Scholars Program, working primarily with the Mutual Aid Project.
Darci Connor Maresca:
Darci is the Assistant Director for the School of Earth and Sustainability (SES) at UMass Amherst. Her work, driven by a deep commitment to the land-grant mission, consistently focuses on the intersection of people and food systems. She translates the SES mission into actionable strategies, oversees daily operations, and leads campus-wide sustainability initiatives.
Kat Chang Laznicka:
Kat is a first-generation Korean-American farmer and co-owner of Reed Farm. Reed Farm is a small-scale pastured poultry farm and state-inspected poultry processing facility offering processing services to the local farming community. They sell wholesale poultry meat and eggs and proudly provide fresh, Halal-certified chicken to UMass Amherst Dining Halls.
Jennifer Core:
Jennifer joined CISA as Executive Director in 2025. Previously, she was the Director of Operations at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, where she facilitated a 35-million-dollar USDA-funded, nationwide Action for Climate-Smart Agriculture project. Jennifer and her family also run Hettie Belle Farm in Warwick, MA.
Jenn Albertine:
Jenn is the Climate and Land Justice Director at Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust. She is responsible for the integration of Climate and Land Justice into every aspect of Mount Grace’s work: conservation, stewardship, and outreach. Jenn holds a Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences and a B.S. in Environmental Science, both from the UMass Amherst.
Click here to watch the panel discussion.
