Linda T. Drake

Linda T. Drake, B.A. in English and M.S. in Nutritional Sciences, has worked for the University of Connecticut since September 1970. As Program Director of EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program), Linda provides direction, coordination and leadership to community-based staff who work with low income families and youth across the state, helping them learn about food safety, food shopping and food preparation for better health.

Linda works on many different projects and serves as a resource for the State Departments of Agriculture, Public Health, and Education. Currently at UCONN she serves on the CANR Home & Garden Newsletter Committee. In the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Linda serves on the Faculty Development Committee. She also has taught credit courses such as Community Nutrition and NUSC 166, Food Culture and Society, and is frequently an invited guest speaker for courses in Nutritional Sciences, Plant Sciences and Agricultural and Resource Economics. She has worked with both Independent Study students and students conducting fieldwork or community rotations in the dietetics program. At the University level, she is a member of the Human Rights Semester Committee, has provided leadership for World Food Day on campus since the 1970s, and in 1996 was a recipient of the University of Connecticut Award for Promoting Multiculturalism and Affirmative Action.

Linda is actively involved in the international Society for Nutrition Education, serving as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Public Policy, newsletter editor for the Division of Sustainable Food Systems and a reviewer for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. She serves on several national committees, including the EFNEP Task Force and the CSREES Subcommittee on Public Policy and Obesity. She is on the Board of Directors for End Hunger Connecticut!, Inc., and has been involved in the anti-hunger movement in Connecticut since the late 1970’s. She has been a regular participant in the CT Food Policy Council since 2000, becoming a member in 2003, and currently serving as Chairperson. In 2005, she co-authored a study on the evaluation and ranking of 169 towns in Connecticut regarding community food security.