Events

Dell deChant is a Master Instructor in the Department of Religious Studies at USF, where he has served since 1986. The author of three books, over 35 articles in professional publications, and chapters in twelve books, deChant's specialization is religion and contemporary cultures. His research focuses on religious, literary, and ecological expressions of Agrarianism in American popular culture. He is the Convener of the USF Urban Food Sovereignty Group, a founding member of the Pasco County Food Policy Council, and a board member of the Florida Food Policy Council.

William Schanbacher, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at USF and co-founder of the USF Urban Food Sovereignty Group. He is the author of three books and a new book with Whitney Fung, Food Insecurity: A Reference Handbook (Bloomsbury Academic 2023), which addresses the history of food insecurity in the United States through the lens of food sovereignty and food justice. His research and teaching interests concentrate on religious and social ethics, globalization and poverty, and food justice.

Whitney Fung Uy is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition. She is an applied, mixed-methods researcher with interests in food and nutrition security, sustainable food systems, and health equity. She obtained her PhD in Public Health from the University of South Florida and Master’s in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, and a Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Florida.  Co-Author on the book: Food Insecurity.

Dhalia Bumbaca is the Director of Development & Programming at The Well Incorporated. Dhalia joined The Well after co-founding WellFed Community, a social enterprise addressing food sovereignty, that now is part of The Well's ecosystem. Dhalia is also currently a co-host of The Well's new podcast, Tampa Talk, aimed at sharing local news with Tampa residents. A proud USF Bull, Dhalia received her undergraduate degree and Master's degree at the University of South Florida and continues to work closely with students, faculty, and staff in order to provide opportunities for community relationships.

Kitty Wallace, a retired educator, is past president of the Tampa Garden Club. She is the garden coordinator of Tampa Heights Community Garden and co-founder of the Coalition of Community Gardens – Tampa Bay.  She was recognized by Hillsborough County with a Harvest Award for Community Service and received a commendation from the City of Tampa for her dedication to school and community gardening.  Currently, she is part of the multi-agency Garden Steps Project, working to improve the health of the community by establishing home gardens.

Brenda Clark is a baptized member of the Church of Christ with the Nassau Street congregation in downtown Tampa.  She is a retiree and graduate of The University of South Florida College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.  Brenda became involved with the Healthy 22nd Street Community Garden in 2020 prior to her retirement.  Her expectations for the interest were to eat healthy while aging, have access to healthy fresh food, ensure affordability on her upcoming fixed retirement budget, be active, and have an extended community fellowship of like-minded people. Brenda is a mayor-appointed member of the Tampa Mayor's Alliance for Persons with Disabilities.  She serves as the Alliance board Treasurer.  Brenda was nominated and awarded the mayor’s annual Outstanding Community Service Volunteer of the Year in 2022. In addition to Brenda's belief to sovereignty to have access and availability to consume healthy fresh food, she advocates for the access and availability of full inclusion and full participation of all citizens in the community.

Regina Polite is a native of Tampa, Florida.  She has two children and one granddaughter. She is a member of the Church of Christ. She retired after 28 years with the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa. She is a volunteer Usher with the Straz Center in Tampa, which is the largest performing arts center south of the Kennedy Center in New York.  She has been a gardener with the Healthy 22nd Street Initiative for the last three years. Her involvement with Healthy 22nd Street had her desiring more knowledge about gardening.  She then became a member of the Tampa Heights Community Garden, as well as Healthy 22 Street.

Agnita Brown is a St. Lucian by birth but a proud citizen of America since 1975.  She has been a resident of East Tampa since 1982.  Agnita is a US Army veteran having served two tours of duty. She is a retiree of 31 years of service with Hillsborough County Public Schools.  Agnita is a recent widow and is the primary caregiver to her two grandsons, Josph and Josiah.  Gardening is one of her favorite activities. Agnita says that “I am ever so grateful to be associated with my gardening family at the Healthy 22nd Street location and also at the Tampa Heights Community Garden”.

Dr. Dave Himmelfarb teaches courses on food, environmental sustainability, and social justice at Eckerd College and is the Faculty Director and co-founder of the Eckerd College Community Farm, where he coordinates educational programs and community outreach. Trained as an environmental anthropologist, Dave has conducted fieldwork on food security and rural livelihoods in Uganda and Vietnam.

Monica Petrella is a passionate advocate for regional food systems. She first learned about the power of regional economic systems while attending the Small Farms Conference hosted by UF IFAS in 2012. She attended the University of Florida where she graduated with her B.S. in Food and Resource Economics supplemented with a minor in Organic and Sustainable Crop Production. She then later attended the University of Vermont to earn an M.S. in Community Development and Applied Economics, specializing in Community Food Systems. She has worked on small farms, in farm-to-table restaurants, volunteered in community gardens, and met a variety of stakeholders in the Tampa Bay Food System. Previously she has been involved in community organizing and political advocacy but recently started a new position at Hillsborough County as the Food System Coordinator. In her day-to-day job with the County, she helps stakeholders and organizations create, refine, or specialize their strategic plans that help fit their programming into a larger community approach for food system development. Additionally, she is constantly researching best practices from other communities in hopes of helping localize efforts here in Hillsborough County.