OUR TEAM
GORD ANDROSOFF
Executive Director
Gord has two adult children who have traveled to far more distant parts of the world than he has with his son having bought the 40-acre farmyard where he grew up. He has a 40-acre lakeside pasture near the farmyard where he hopes one day to live part of the year on a hillside tiny house bordered by a stone wall from all the rocks he and his siblings picked in childhood. He is motivated by coffee conversations with strangers, his late Russian Doukhobor grandmother, visiting out of the way places, the value of blending western and Indigenous knowledge and the many people who still strive to build community spaces where we can all thrive regardless of the privilege we may or may not have.
MONICA RUIZ
Operations Manager
Monica recently completed her MBA at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade working at a food bank in Montana, where she gained broad experience in event planning and management, organizing an annual Thanksgiving Day race, connecting patrons with community resources, coordinating volunteers, managing websites and social media, and evaluating programs to support continuous improvement.
Now settled in Nelson, Monica and her family enjoy many of the outdoor activities the area offers, from mountain biking to skiing. She has a daughter at South Nelson School, where she volunteers with the PAC. At home, she’s kept company by a tubby tabby cat and an energetic young cattledog mix.
EMIL FISCHER
Garden Coordinator
Emil’s lifelong passion for growing things, along with his DIY approach, means he feels very much at home in the Nelson Community Food Centre Garden. His mastery of composting, gardening and working well with others comes from helping out in a double-lot family/urban garden from a young age.
AINSLEAH HASTINGS
Community Chef & Kitchen Coordinator
“I want the world to be united through healthy and happy food and to thrive together.” – Jeong Kwan
Ainsleah brings a diverse working background that blends culinary experience with a deep commitment to social justice. Her career has spanned a multitude of roles, many centered around creativity, food security, and fostering inclusive spaces. She believes that access to nutritious food is a fundamental human right and that both cooking and work should be enjoyable and inspiring. Ainsleah is dedicated to using her culinary knowledge and varied experiences to support initiatives that help everyone thrive. She views the Nelson Community Food Centre as a place where her diverse passions can flourish, contributing to a more interconnected and vibrant community. Ainsleah enjoys finding innovative ways to create beautiful, nourishing meals with limited ingredients, seeing cooking as a form of communication and a way to connect with people through the universal need for good food.
“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.” – Anthony Bourdain