Salt Lake City Says Farewell to Supreet Gill

Food & Equity are critical aspects of our work at SLCgreen. Food exists at the intersection of environmental resilience and community. Our interactions with the food system are complex and made even more complicated by inequities that limit our community members’ access to fresh, nutritious, and culturally-relevant foods.  

Supreet Gill guided SLCgreen’s food and equity work since August 2019.  As Program Manager, Supreet built on our existing programs, dedicating her time to improving community health and well-being by spearheading efforts to improve access to healthy, affordable food. The pandemic revealed just how closely linked food, equity, and climate can be. Despite the challenges of the past year, Supreet worked diligently to alleviate some of the disparities in our food system.  

Supreet has helped shape our department’s food access and equity work, but now it is time to say farewell to our colleague and friend. She and her family are moving out of state. While we hate to see our co-workers go, we’re excited to see what Supreet will do next! And we have a chance to reflect on everything Supreet has done to support our community.  

Thanks, Supreet! 

As Program Manager, Supreet helped forge connections throughout Salt Lake City and beyond, to increase support for equitable food access. 

Here’s what Supreet has to say about Salt Lake City’s food system, and the barriers to access in our community:  

Here’s a recap of what Supreet has accomplished in her whirlwind of a tenure with SLCgreen:

In February of 2020, Supreet helped launch the innovative Resident Food Equity Advisors program. This program brought 13 Salt Lake City residents together for monthly meetings. The Resident Food Equity Advisors are dedicated to increasing input from marginalized and vulnerable communities to help implement more equitable food policies throughout the City. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Salt Lake City, SLCgreen pivoted to address a 300% increase in need for food assistance. Supreet championed the City’s efforts to make sure that even during emergencies, our community members have access to food. 

This year, as partners with United Way of Salt Lake City and the International Rescue Committee, SLCgreen submitted a grant to increase emergency food support. The resulting program will provide contactless delivery and on-site distribution of locally-sourced, culturally appropriate food boxes to refugee and immigrant families who are struggling with COVID-19 and food insecurity 

During this challenging time, Supreet also worked closely with the Salt Lake City Food Policy Council, who met with Mayor Mendenhall to outline the immediate food needs in Salt Lake City and address food insecurities across our community.  

Even in the face of these emergencies, Supreet was able to advance the food program, beginning to develop a 15-acre parcel in the northwest quadrant of Salt Lake City for use as an urban farm. SLCgreen hopes that the farm will increase access to locally produced food.   

We’re grateful for everything Supreet has done to make Salt Lake City a more equitable and sustainable community. We’re lucky to have been able to work with her, sharing food stories, and learning from her compassion and determination. 

Cheers Supreet! We’re grateful for all of your work to enhance our city!