The Story of Women in Food
Being a solo Woman Farmer and Woman Entrepreneur I have always kept my eye out for fellow women in business with whom to connect (and commiserate). As I’ve established myself on my farm and in a new region, one thing I love to do is meet new chefs and farmers alike.
However, one thing that I noticed was a serious lack in attention towards women Chefs and Farmers of the region, despite the fact that there are many of us.
Here at Crown Hill Farm, we love to host Farm-to-Table Dinners featuring local chefs preparing seasonal foods. From there, I saw a vision: A series of dinners highlighting the women chefs and women farmers of Western NY.
Image of multiple people. One woman is featured in the center holding a dish of tacos, smiling. There are small images of other people smiling and talking as well.
In 2020, with COVID keeping us all away from social gatherings in person, I had to get creative while hanging on to this vision of featuring women in food in WNY. And so, after many conversations with incredible women, an Online series for 2020 was born - Women in Food of WNY!
It was an incredible series of 15 episodes taught LIVE on Zoom as cook-along and garden-along classes mixed with personal interviews, conversation of food knowledge, and rich storytelling. Yelp joined in to co-host the episodes for August and September which added a whole new community of folks!
After 5 months of hosting live episodes AND a Women in Food-LIVE dinner, I needed a break. However, my audience was excited for more. That’s when the Women in Food Podcast was born!
Image of woman standing outside, smiling, holding a pet chicken
Image of woman smiling sitting at a table in front of a sunny window with her laptop and a mug
Missy Singer DuMars
I come from a deep tradition of entrepreneurship and business having grown up in a multi-generational family business. From the many chapters of my life, I bring an unorthodox pastiche of skills. With a deep background in business and technology, a life-long involvement in the arts, and a varied spiritual background, I channel the power of connecting people, cultivated aesthetics, sacred awareness, and inspired leadership to every endeavor I undertake.
Having left careers in Theatrical & Entertainment Lighting, as a Therapeutic Massage Therapist and Business Coach I now get to bring everything I know together on my farm, Crown Hill Farm and to Women in Food.
Winding up in the farming world grew out of a desire to dig deep into health, wellness, and connection to the land. In an unconventional way, life at Crown Hill Farm is the sum of all the lessons learned along the way, fused with the incredible responsibility of working with the Earth’s natural rhythms. Every part of life on the farm is sculpted around conscious being, with extreme care and attention paid to empowering health, wellness, and simplicity.
As an Entrepreneur and Business coach, I’m a staunch advocate for growing business in a way that is authentic, conscious, accessible and sustainable. These values translate to my farm.
“Women in Food” comes from my own passion to build community and foster collaboration. I want success for each woman, whatever that might mean for her and so “Women in Food” is my way to elevate all our voices to share the vast talent and my own passion for food with others.