Berry Ready to Make Difference on Montgomery County Food Policy Council

Led by her passion for public service and research, one Ursinus College professor is ready to make a difference in the local Montgomery County community.

On July 18, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Brie Berry was selected to serve on the inaugural leadership team of the Montgomery County Food Policy Council. Berry was one of seven people chosen to serve and the only member from an institution of higher education.

The council, which was established in March, is designed to help build a sustainable food system that prioritizes access to high-quality, healthy food for everybody in the county. Berry and other council members will help provide guidance and make recommendations for policymakers in order to achieve an efficient and sustainable food system.

Berry’s new role in the county aligns well with her own scholarly research and expertise, which focuses on food waste and disposal.

“I want to think about how we create value in a food system, how we get food to people, and then how we hold on to that value instead of discarding it,” Berry said.

As a member of the Department of Environment and Sustainability at Ursinus, Berry not only teaches about food waste, but also circular economies and other critical parts of food systems. She hopes to translate her teachings in courses such as Social Life of Waste and Introduction to Food Systems to her work on the council.

“We can be a little bit kinder to the planet and people and find ways to do the best with the food that we have,” Berry said.

The work being done at Ursinus can also play a big part in the overall success of the food systems in Montgomery County. Many professors teach and conduct research on sustainable food systems on and around campus. The Ursinus Food Forest and campus farm are two of the biggest projects that tackle these issues, while the Wismer on Wheels student-run organization plays a massive role in combating food waste and food insecurity in the community.

“I’m really lucky to be a part of a community that’s really working to build a more sustainable food system here on campus and I think we can help grow that in the county,” Berry said.