hi, I am ellen!
i am the fifth generation of my family's 140-year southern Illinois farm legacy, lipe orchards. i grew up running barefoot, making mud pies, catching fireflies, eating fruit right off the tree and connecting deeply with this special place. It’s been said that peach juice runs in our veins.
i moved into my grandparents’ farmhouse, affectionately referred to as the Peach Pit, and have been remodeling it ever since. local lore farm is located on my own 5-acre plot, next door to lipe orchards.
local lore farm is still a small venture, but i have grafted heirloom apple trees, planted medicinal and culinary herbs and am excited to watch these plants and the farm grow.
i began experimenting with ice cream in the kitchen of scratch brewing company. i spent six years working in that brewery and expanding my knowledge and appreciation of naturally grown botanicals and other regionally produced ingredients and giving me the foundation i needed to began local lore.
i am passionate about place-based storytelling and care deeply about what it means to create and invest in a truly regional food system, where we provide for the needs of our community within the ecological boundaries of the community.
i received my mfa in media arts from southern illinois university, during which I made coyote midwives, a short documentary film about midwifery and home birth in the state of illinois. You can watch it here:
i received my master of science in geography with a thesis exploring local food movement from the perspectives of small-scale, sustainable farmers in rural Jackson and Union Counties in Southern Illinois. Read it here:
when i’m not making ice cream, i work full time with food works as the farmers market manager, operating both the carbondale winter farmers market and the new mobile farmers market. I now serve on the board of southern illinois collaborative kitchen.
are your areas of interest similar to mine? wanna connect and work on something? questions about ice cream? the local food system? here's how to get in touch.