About Us
What began as a community project to revitalize the historic Prices Fork Elementary School in 2012 has flourished into the organization Live Work Eat Grow. The old school renovation now includes mixed-income apartments, an independently owned restaurant, a local brewery and a shared-use kitchen. Together, these entities not only provide an economic benefit, but a renewed energy in our community.
Today, Live Work Eat Grow operates as a 501c3 nonprofit supporting sustainable community food systems, farms and gardens. At Millstone Kitchen and our four community gardens, we foster small food businesses, preserve space for communal gardening and support food security initiatives throughout the region.
Our mission is to foster local food, farms and gardens; create jobs and grow small businesses; support an affordable home for all; and to gather friends and neighbors.
Financial statements: Past IRS Form 990s available upon request.
Our Staff
Laina Schneider
Executive Director
Laina brings to the position her diverse background in food and agriculture. She has worked with academic, non-profit and private sector entities in the U.S. and abroad in Guatemala, Honduras and Nepal. Laina is also a cook, and worked as a Sous Chef in California at a farm-to-table restaurant. She holds a B.S. in Crop and Soil Environmental Science from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis. When not working, you can find Laina hiking, camp cooking, or riding her motorcycle.
Emma Jensen
Community Gardens Coordinator
Emma earned her B.A. in Sociology from Seattle University, where she developed a passion for food access. After graduation, she began immersing herself in the food system by working on family farms and running low income food access programs for farmer’s markets. Before her move to Blacksburg, she managed an island farm off the coast of Maine. In her free time, you’ll find her cooking something new, throwing pottery, and gardening.
Lindsey Harper
Millstone Kitchen Coordinator
Lindsey attended Berea College in Kentucky, where she obtained a degree in Agriculture and Natural Resources, while working at the College’s greenhouse, farmer’s market, and as a ceramics apprentice. Since then, she has worked as a cook in several locally-owned businesses in Kentucky, eventually moving to Virginia to work on farms and pursue cooking on her own. For the past three years, she has run her own pottery, farm, and food businesses. When she isn’t in the garden, in the kitchen, or making pots, she loves hanging out with her animals, running, drinking and eating nice things with friends, and going to concerts with her partner.
Board of Directors
- April DeMotts, Montgomery County Board of Supervisors
- Jeff Dinger, Giles County
- Shelley Fortier, Community Member
- Dana Hogg, Housing and Community Connections, Town of Blacksburg
- Susan Mattingly, Community Member
- Anne McClung, Community Member
- Jonathan Vandergrift, Habitat for Humanity
- Elisabeth Willis, Community Member
- Jennifer Wilsie, Senior Planner with the New River Valley Regional Commission