Ran is the founder of Fresh City.  He believes city farming can change the world by re-introducing all of us to how real food is made. Some of his formative childhood experiences include his grandmother’s stories about growing up on a Kibbutz, feeling democracy awaken in his childhood home of South Africa and his mom’s stuffed peppers. Ran has spoken on food issues before hundreds of audiences. Before founding Fresh City, Ran practiced investment law in New York City for several years. Ran is a board member of FoodShare.

Ran is the adoring father of a baby girl who, so far at least, loves her veggies.

Abra curates each week's bag and works with our network of farmers and makers to source the best produce and products. Abra has extensive experience within city farming, having worked on such projects as Carrot City: Designing for Urban Agriculture, and the Metcalf Food Solutions paper “Scaling Up Urban Agriculture in Toronto: Building the Infrastructure.” She holds a Certificate in Food Security from Ryerson University, with a focus on urban agriculture, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto in architectural design and fine art history. Abra is a Producer Board Member of the West End Food Coop, where she represents Fresh City farmers and contributes to procurement and HR policies. Her personal mission is to reconnect people to food, field, and farmers.

Growing up in rural Nova Scotia, Hannah spent most of her childhood in rubber boots. After finishing her undergrad in International Development Studies, her focus turned to agriculture and since then, she has worked on farms in Italy, Croatia, New Brunswick and British Columbia. Her desire to take a break from rural life and to farm within the energy and community of an urban setting brought her to Fresh City. She is excited to be growing food for so many Toronto tables and to share her excitement with everyone who comes to the farm! 

Kim is Fresh City’s marketing manager. Over several summers spent up in Temagami, Ontario she developed a deep connection with nature and has always had a great love for good food! Before joining Fresh City, Kim studied Journalism in Halifax and worked in the fast-paced world of PR/Social Media in Toronto. She jumped at the chance to merge her passions for Communications, the outdoors and food while helping Fresh City grow and thrive. On any given day you can find Kim up at the packing station, visiting Fresh City member farmers and friends, cooking up a delicious local, organic meal or riding her bike, looking for adventure.

Danielle joins Fresh City with a variety of experience working for the local food movement. In Campo Ramón, deep within the Argentinean jungle, they call her the “cookie monster.” But at Fresh City, as the warehouse manager, Danielle is responsible for the daily operations of the packing station ensuring that our members’ produce arrives to their homes fresh and delicious.  Her passions lie in all things food – food sovereignty, social justice and anything her zias can teach her in the kitchen. As a farmer, she split her time between working the land and bringing food to market where she was a favourite with customers. It’s here that she learned that re-organizing the food chain means building strong bonds between people and what they eat. Danielle holds a PGC in International Development and a BA in International Studies. She also wants to know: “What did you have for lunch today?”

Chen is our Member Support specialist and coordinates delivery operations. He makes sure your order arrives on time. It's his voice you’ll hear answering the Fresh City phone.  Chen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the International Disciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel and has also studied at York University.  He really likes carrots. 

Kerri supports the daily operations of the packing station both in the warehouse and on the road, ensuring the quality of the produce from the receiving end to front door delivery, one bag at a time.  Kerri began her work with Fresh City as a volunteer at the packing station and immediately felt at home. Her interest in food began as an active youth soccer player where she worked with the team nutritionist to develop a diet that would sustain and support her intense training. Growing up in the urban sprawl of Toronto, she jumped at the opportunity to live in small town New Brunswick where she thrived in nature, played soccer, and studied English Literature. Backpacking from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland, Kerri gained an appreciation for supporting local markets and realized how much Canadian soil has to offer. Her love of the outdoors led her to enrich the lives of others by bringing them closer to nature through camping trips and backpacking extravaganzas. 

Paula grew up in the suburbs of Toronto and though she had little exposure to farming she always had an affinity for nature and a strong interest in science. Her love for the natural world lead her to the completion of both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Biology where her studies focused on ecology and entomology. After learning about the shortcomings of modern, industrial agriculture she felt a strong need to become involved in environmentally responsible food production. Her favourite part of being Fresh City’s Assistant Farm Manager is getting to work with urban farmers and volunteers who share her passion for organic agriculture… that, and the cool bugs she sees on the farm every day.        

Jessica grew up in the upstate New York countryside. After finishing her Bachelors in Environmental Studies and English Literature, in addition to her Masters of Landscape Architecture, she moved to Toronto. In the past, she worked at Shamrock Hill Farms, Berkshire Botanical Gardens, and various university greenhouses. Her love of all things green and growing brought her to volunteer at Fresh City. This growing season she is taking the plunge and has started Sweet Gale Gardens: a small landscape design company focusing on native plant gardens and a small fresh cut flower farm at Fresh City’s Downsview location. When Jessica is not at the farm, she can be found teaching yoga, hiking, cooking or traveling.

Mélisanne has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from York University. She specializes in environmental education and urban gardening. She is now putting her research into action through U FEED, a collaborative learning program for newcomers to urban farming. Mélisanne’s involvement in urban agriculture started during her studies in biology in Montreal. She volunteered with The Rooftop Garden project and learnt how to grow organic food in gardening containers. She moved to Toronto to take part in the city’s vibrant urban agriculture movement.

She works at Fresh City as a Senior Member Farmer, Assistant Farm Manager, and as an Instructor for workshops. Gardening and farming are for Mélisanne a social endeavour. She believes in creative, community-driven solutions for improving the environment and living green.

Having always worked for major companies, I joined the Fresh City team in need of a (good) change. I worked as a sales manager for 7 years, working long hours, not taking care of myself. I closed that chapter of my life and entered the fitness industry. I learned that eating well plays a key role in an overall healthy mind-body-spirit. I discovered that my true passion lies with great food... and so I found Fresh City! I like the idea, concept and values of Fresh City and the closeness of the team. I believe food is our medicine and our fuel. Treat it well.

Sophie.

Larry

A long-time foodie and believer in the power of food as a healing path, Scott has been sprouting since the 80's. He worked for Supersprouts for several years, growing all things green such as wheatgrass, sunflower greens, etc. The setting there was of an urban sprout farm, in downtown Toronto, where the live food lifestyle was promoted, and teachers came from all over the continent to speak. After that, wanting some independence and a creative outlet, Scott made and sold live vegan food to local health-food stores for a number of years. When it was time for a change, he meandered a course to Fresh City, where passionate foodies and urban farmers thrive!

Michelle.