White House Author

Sonia Kendrick was sent to to war in Afghanistan in 2003. There she experienced first hand what food insecurity looks like. She was surprised to come home to America and find that her state of Iowa had 400,000 food insecure people and that we import over 90% of our food. Sonia Kendrick earned a degree in Agronomy and is currently in progress on a master’s degree of sustainable food systems. She sits on her county's food systems council, is a Sister of the Planet for Oxfam, helped found Iowa’s Women’s Veteran Farmer Coalition, founded Feed Iowa First, through which she has grown thousands of pounds of vegetables that she has donated to food banks and Meals on Wheels, and, most importantly, is the single mother of two girls. Her purpose is to bring health, vitality, and food security to her people, and be a farmer of farmers. As a sufferer of PTSD, farming keeps her grounded. Her mission is to grow vegetables for food banks and assist landless beginning farmers to start farming and to transform her food system from a transportation-based food system to a locally-based food system. Sonia firmly believes that food security is national security and that plows are always greater than swords!