Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) recently hired a new Wholesome Minnesota Coordinator, Jodi Gruhn. Please join us in welcoming her to this exciting role!
Wholesome Minnesota is a program created by Compassionate Action for Animals in collaboration with The Humane Society of the United States-MN and Forward Food. Our goal is to increase the availability of plant-based foods in Minnesota’s institutional landscape. We focus on making a difference in school districts, health care facilities, colleges, workplace cafeterias, restaurants and places of worship around the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Increasing consumption of plant-based foods improves the health of Minnesotans, benefits the environment, and spares animals from lives of suffering in the industrialized agriculture system.
Jodi is a natural networker and a fierce advocate for a plant-based lifestyle. Drawing on her strengths in marketing and communications, she will partner with institutional leaders to be the change in their organizations. She’s a natural communicator who confidently expresses WHY it’s important to shift our consumption patterns while discovering the unique needs of each partner and creating a customized approach.
A vegetarian for many years, Jodi began to feel unsettled with this choice and realized the need to fully align with her values. With deeper contemplation of her passion for health, the environment and any animal who crossed her path, she recognized it was time to commit to plant-based. This switch led her to an interest in food justice and a deep desire to help people reach their potential and create lasting health benefits with a plant-based lifestyle.
Jodi works diligently to reform the food system. She has been a volunteer on a variety of CAA initiatives including the Twin Cities Veg Fest and the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge. A sampling of her food-related work includes: Minneapolis Public Schools’ plant-based school lunch pilot and their True Food program; vegan restaurant fig+farro’s climate change initiatives; Switch4Good’s adoption of a dairy-free, plant-based lifestyle; and LIfe Time Foundation’s removal of highly processed foods and increase of fresh food options in school nutrition programs.
Jodi is a lifelong learner who enjoys a good challenge. She loves camping and the outdoors — with a podcast to prove it. Amazing friends and family, mountain biking, creating beautiful plant-based meals over a campfire and developing signature sauces to hook her diners completes her. She is currently earning her certificate in Plant-based Nutrition at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and is near completion of certification in Functional Medicine Health Coaching.