Ali Zipparo

Ali is the Farm to School Coordinator at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. She works with local food procurement in state government, the state workplace CSA, and other farm to institution initiatives. Before coming to the agency, Ali worked for UVM Extension, where she coordinated a young farmer business development program- the Center for Sustainable Agriculture's Youth Ag IDA Program. Ali has worked for a long list of food and farm organizations in Vermont. She spent 7 years driving a school bus in Connecticut, before finishing her undergraduate career. During her career as a bus driver, Ali spent two seasons working on a diversified, organic vegetable farm, in her hometown of Ridgefield, CT. During her tenure in Connecticut, she also established an urban community garden in downtown Danbury, CT. She came to Vermont in 2010 as a VHCB Farm Viability intern, while she was finishing her undergrad at Smith College, and never left. After working for VHCB, she did work for the Farm to Plate report, American Farmland Trust, Vermont Immigration and Asylum Advocates, and many other organizations. Ali lives in Burlington, and loves traveling the state to learn what students are doing to incorporate agriculture into their school day.