Farm to Fork 2026

Maile Auterson is a fourth generation Ozarks farmer and the founding director of Springfield Community Gardens, a grassroots network of 15 community gardens and two urban farms. Under her leadership, the organization has secured 17 million dollars in federal and private foundation funding to address small farm needs and food insecurity across 22 rural and urban Missouri counties. Maile is a recipient of an environmental award from the James River Basin Partnership and an appointee to the Missouri Department of Agriculture Food Security Task Force. She is recognized as a Food Justice Visionary by Missouri Foundation for Health and serves on the Agriculture Education Advisory Board for Springfield Public Schools.