STAFF

Greg grew up in Springdale, Newfoundland and moved to St. John’s to go to MUN. In his twenties, he co-owned and operated Fixed Coffee and Baking on Duckworth Street, which put him in touch with local food producers and the very special 2010s St. John’s restaurant/food scene, of which Fixed was a daytime hub. Being connected to and daily in the midst of community at the cafe instilled in him a sense that this was how life should be lived. Post-Fixed, Greg spent some years in Toronto teaching English to international students seeking Canadian student visas, which he continued to do online in the post-pandemic years back in St. John’s. This shift in career from local to global was enriching, but the pull back to a more grounded, local focus has led him back to food, and the Food Producers Forum. While decidedly a beginner in the worlds of gardening and agriculture – with only a couple years of raised bed veg and herb growing and a 4-month stint driving a tractor on an Australian zucchini farm a bunch of years ago – Greg was drawn to join the Food Producers Forum because its existence is a demonstration that we already possess the capacity, knowledge, and skills needed to simultaneously lessen our dire dependence on imported foods and make ourselves healthier, and that doing so will lead to the building of networks of care and resources that the present and future will increasingly call for. Such networks and the communities they mutually aid can be ways of not just sustaining ourselves but sources of joy, solidarity and togetherness of a type too often absent in these times.

Anastasia initially joined Food Producers Forum in 2023 as our Communications Officer to help us improve our public outreach strategies and materials. In this role, she has assisted us with managing our social media presence, designing our monthly newsletters, as well as developing and maintaining our new website. Now, she works as the Public Engagement Manager for our new project – Advancing Public Trust in Local Food. Anastasia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Linguistics, as well as a Certificate in Film Studies.

Shawn Dawson is a full-time forager, grower, author, and passionate nature lover based in Newfoundland. He is the owner and operator of Barking Kettle, a local business dedicated to supplying wild Newfoundland ingredients to restaurants, farmers markets, and other local enterprises. A lifelong forager, Shawn has been growing and gathering food since childhood, steadily building his knowledge of both cultivated and wild plants. He is the author of The Forager’s Dinner (Boulder Publications, 2020), and is widely recognized for his expertise in harvesting mushrooms, berries, wild greens, and unique ingredients like chaga fungus. He has a talent for crafting remarkable pickles and preserves from natural sources and works closely with chefs and craft producers to develop innovative food, beer, and spirit products that highlight the island’s natural bounty. Shawn also shares his deep love for Newfoundland’s wild foods through guided foraging tours, food hikes, and cook-ups, inspiring others to reconnect with the land. As a vendor at the St. John's Farmers’ Market, he’s a familiar face known for his wild harvests and enthusiasm for local food culture.