Sara Vandersip

Sara is a research assistant with the Global Food Research Program and recently graduated with a Bachelor in Public Health, Nutrition from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. During her undergraduate studies, she completed a senior honors thesis under the guidance of Lindsey Smith Taillie identifying key drivers of food waste and barriers to food waste reduction among young adults. Sara is passionate about improving food systems to promote nutrition security, sustainability, and food justice. At GFRP, she assists with a range of projects from nutrition facts panel data cleaning to eco-label and food waste studies.

The first thing I learned to cook was… my grandmother’s vegetable soup. She grew up on a farm and knows how to cook practically every vegetable that grows in NC.

My favorite food-related smell is… fresh baked banana bread — it’s nostalgic and good in every season.

Foods I must have in my home are… coffee, sunflower butter, sourdough bread, tofu, and kimchi!