Meet Our Team
Umi Jenkins
Executive Director | Umi@mississippifarmtoschool.orgUmi Jenkins is a dedicated food literacy educator and advocate for sustainable agriculture, serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. As Director, Umi works closely with local food producers and families to uplift the narrative around farming and promote economic empowerment rooted in racial equity.
Drawing from her passion for food and a deep family history in farming, Umi is committed to educating children across Mississippi about agrarian culture and land stewardship. With over six years of experience in gardening and community organizing, she provides agriculture-based education and resources to homeschool and after-school programs, fostering a new generation of informed and engaged learners.
Umi is a proud member of the Mississippi Food Systems Fellowship and the Gulf Coast Sustainable Growers Alliance. Her previous roles include Media Manager for the 34th Street Community Garden & Education Center and the Galloway Family Farm and Education Center. In addition to her work in food literacy, Umi is a certified wellness coach and a youth sports coach in her hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi, where she continues to inspire and empower her community
Sydney Bush Turnipseed
Associate Director | sydney@mississippifarmtoschool.orgSydney is a Mississippi Gulf Coast Native. Her passion for food justice took off after interning with the Mississippi Farm to School Network and the Mississippi State Data Center, The University of Mississippi Center for Population Studies during undergrad at the University of Mississippi studying Economics and Environmental Studies. She was a Freeman Foundation Grantee, spending a summer during college interning in Shanghai, China and worked with WWOOF in France.
She thrives on community coalition building, bringing folks together working towards social change. Combining her technical knowledge in economics with her passions of food security and public health, she focuses her efforts on fundraising, event planning, and programming with the Mississippi Farm to School Network. She enjoys gardening, traveling, and being outdoors.
MaryJo Wilson
Marketing & Outreach Lead | maryjo@mississippifarmtoschool.orgMaryJo is a recent first-generation graduate from the University of Mississippi, where she studied Integrated Marketing Communications, Environmental Studies, and General Business during her undergraduate studies. As a native of North Mississippi, she has developed a strong passion for philanthropy after interning with the Mississippi Farm to School Network.
In her current role, her goal is to cultivate and establish positive relationships that provide enriching opportunities for food sovereignty and inspire Mississippi communities and children. She also aims to combat the challenges of food insecurity throughout the state by strengthening the local economy and food systems through education, local procurement, and empowerment. MaryJo also enjoys spending her time in nature, cooking, and exploring.
Mississippi Farm to School Network Board Members
Robert Gates, Tri-County Agriculture Cooperative
Paige Manning and Robby Sullivan, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
Laciana McIntyre, The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi
Kenya Collins, FoodCorps Mississippi
Christine Coker, Mississippi Extension
Felicia Bell, National Center for Appropriate Technology
Donna Loden, Growing Healthy Waves
Sharon Patterson, Galloway's Children Center
Laura Bounds, Vicksburg-Warren School District
April Catchings and Kenyetta Griffin, Mississippi Department of Education
April Porter, Mississippi Department of Health
Rose Tate, Member at Large