Meet Our Team: Jess Frye
December 17, 2024
Meet one of the newest members of our team, Jess Frye, who joined us in April 2024 as Foodwise’s Director of Development, overseeing all of our fundraising activities and fund development strategy.
Tell us a bit about you, your background, and what brought you to Foodwise?
I come to Foodwise after two decades working for performing arts nonprofits in Santa Cruz and Berkeley. Volunteering in my kids’ school gardens and serving on the boards of the Homeless Garden Project and the Hudson Center for Community and the Environment reactivated my passion for working toward a sustainable future for the planet and equitable access to quality food and meaningful work for all. Foodwise’s mission offers a beautiful way to align my values with my profession.
What does your work at Foodwise look like in action?
Like all small- to-mid-sized nonprofit staff, my work in development means wearing a lot of hats, including editing grant materials, interacting with funders, orchestrating giving campaigns and events in collaboration with our wonderful development and communications teams, and supporting our education and market operations teams with their fantastic and inspired events and programs.
What inspires or motivates you about your work?
What could be more motivating than a fresh carrot, sold to you by a city-dwelling teenager who is working their first job alongside the farmer who grew it? I love that I get to work with a team that helps facilitate these important connections, bringing together young people and our farmers through programs like Foodwise Teens.
What’s something that you wish people understood better about your work at Foodwise?
I love that fund development work requires a strategic, analytical mindset that is nested in a heartfelt, authentic orientation around mission and vision, programs and participants, and our supporters. I hope people understand how much sincerity comes along with that outstretched hand! This is more than a one-way transaction. It’s an invitation to conversation, connection, and collaboration. When we say we want to hear from you, our supporters, we really mean it!
What do you do to recharge outside of work?
I practice yoga and meditation, get into the sea or under the redwoods as much as I can, hang with my partner, practice my bodhran, watch British crime dramas, and bake sourdough. My happiest loaf of late was a pumpkin-sunflower seed olive oil boule made with einkorn and bread flour, rolled in black sesame. A fresh slice with loads of yellow butter = YES!
Do you have any favorite farmers market tips you can share?
Don’t be afraid to ask your farmer questions! They are a wealth of information and passion about their product. Also, bring cash to the sweet summer corn vendor, and shop early or they WILL run out!!
What does “food wisdom” mean to you?
Growing up in the 1970s in a co-op restaurant family, I learned to seek out local ingredients, tend a home garden, and make pantry magic from my resourceful single mom. I spent several educational and delightful summers on a small organic goat dairy and vegetable farm in central Oregon. These experiences embedded in my bones an awareness of where our food comes from, the power of nutritional healing, and the importance of exchanging food wisdom between generations and across cultures.
Topics: Meet Our Team