The Agrarian Adventure partners with K-12 schools to enrich students’ connection between the foods they eat, their personal health, and the health of their communities and the environment.

Through experiential education in sustainable food and agriculture, local food, and healthy learning in the cafeteria, we connect students to the sources of their food and empower them to transform their lives and food culture in positive ways.

Deb Lentz, Vice President

Deb Lentz is co-owner of Tantré Farm, a CSA farm in Chelsea, Michigan, which produces certified organic vegetables, fruits, herbs, mushrooms, and flowers. She and her husband, Richard, also own and operate the Washtenaw Food Hub in Ann Arbor, which includes two rentable commercial kitchens, a farm market, and an agricultural educational event space for those interested in a mutually supportive network of local, food-based businesses along with an ecological demonstration site and sustainable food system destination. She also has served on the Chelsea Farmers Market Advisory Committee for a number of years. As a farmer and former educator Deb has led many Farmer in the Classroom presentations for elementary students in the Ann Arbor Public Schools since 2008.

Deb has been a board member of The Agrarian Adventure since 2010 and is a founding member of The Agrarian Adventure’s “Farmer in the Classroom” subcommittee.

Chris Chiapelli

Chef Chris has been the Sous Chef at both The Black Pearl and The Grange Kitchen and Bar in Ann Arbor, among his other work leading the kitchen at The University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He teaches workshops and classes on local sustainable foods through the University of Michigan Sustainable Food Systems Initiative and Munger Graduate Housing. He enjoys volunteering his time and talent to the Ann Arbor community, whether it be serving as a board member at The Agrarian Adventure, cooking breakfast for. the homeless at St. Andrews Church, or preparing the Fall Harvest Dinner for Honey Creek Elementary’s Wellness Program every year.

After volunteering with the Agrarian Adventure as a visiting chef for a couple years, Chris joined the board in 2017.

Jeff Tenza

Jeff went to Logan Elementary, Clague Middle School, Huron High, and the University of Michigan before stumbling on the awesome local farms and food opportunities surrounding his hometown. Happily, young students won’t have to wait so long now! He has worked in diverse fields such as solar engineering, green business research, higher ed administration, real estate, software development, and FARMING. He works together with people in their quests for health, a home in a vibrant community, and a nourishing eco-system. He also enjoys learning skills to live in close connection to nature in Michigan, and enjoys curiously compassionate brainstorming.

New board members:

Eliot Jackson

A Popkey

Neha Shah, Advisor to the Board

Neha Shah is an urban gardener and ecological justice advocate. She teaches fourth grade at Burns Park Elementary in the Ann Arbor Public School District. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Foundations with a concentration in Eco-Justice Education from Eastern Michigan University. At her previous post at King Elementary School as a fifth grade teacher, she spearheaded the school wide composting program and the King Learning Garden.

Neha believes in educating and empowering students with knowledge about the local and sustainable food systems, community interconnection and collaboration, place-based education and eco-activism. Neha co-chairs the Farmer in the Classroom subcommittee and serves on our School Garden Network and Advocacy subcommittee.

The Agrarian Adventure would like to thank the following for their contributions and support since our inception:

Al Dente Pasta
Ann Arbor Chapter of the National Woman’s Farm and Garden Association
Ann Arbor Educational Foundation
Beim Foundation                                                                          The Brinery
D.K. Cattle
Downtown Home and Garden
Dunathan Consulting
Durrie Design
Fingerle Lumber
Food System Economic Partnership
Garden Works
The Grange
Grounded Here at Pilar’s Tamales
Great Harvest Bread Company
Grizzly Peak
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Kellogg Foundation
Landscaping for the Heart & Soul
Mighty Good Coffee
Morgan and York
Mosaic Foundation
Nature Nurture Landscaping
Pacific Rim
People’s Food Co-op
Rap for Food   
The Raven’s Club 
Sassafras Tech Collective                                                     
Seva
Slow Food Huron Valley
Tantre Farm
V 2 V (Vintage to Vogue)
Whole Foods – Cranbrook
Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association
Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
Zingerman’s Delicatessen