Her Story
About Katie
Katie Nixon serves as Food Systems Director for a nonprofit in rural Missouri while also operating a certified organic farm with her husband. With 15 years in the field, she began her career with University Extension at a historically black college in Missouri as a small farm outreach worker, where she started programs supporting small, beginning, and underserved farmers. She co-founded the Kansas City Food Hub, a cooperative helping farmers sell wholesale into the local food shed, and has worked with schools and institutions to integrate local food into the economy. Nixon has secured approximately $35 million in grants and co-directed the Heartland Regional Food Business Center, a five-state USDA effort now transitioned to the Heartland Food Business Coalition. As president of the Missouri Farmers Union and a member of the National Farmers Union Board, she advocates for small farm-focused policies. Her values emphasize authenticity, collaboration, and sincerity, which she credits for building credibility in her advocacy and community work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katie
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
When I started this 15 years ago, sometimes it feels like you just haven't moved the needle. It's a systemic issue. We're dealing with some really big problems that are really overwhelming and really slow, but the community that gets built and the resiliency you have to dip into to make sure that you're still at the table. People burn out and they leave. You really have to have some long-term sustainability and that well of passion, but you keep that passion, you have to burn slowly. Understand the forces that you're up against because especially with our social media instant gratification world there's just so much hard work that has to be done for the change to happen. Sustainability doesn't happen overnight. That challenge of this global industry that is huge and it is very hard sometimes to get past it.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Authenticity gives me a lot of credibility and street credibility. Being collaborative is super important because we don't live in a vacuum and if you want to get anything done you really have to work with your community. Be sincere.
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