Lexi Linsenman is the development director at Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, as well as a dietitian, chef, and regenerative farmer.
Tell us about yourself. How would other people describe your personality and your skills? I think about food all the time! I love people and am very much an extrovert. It’s probably the Italian side of me that doesn’t exactly like silence and wants to know how you are and if you’ve eaten. People would probably describe me as positive and into a lot of things. It’s my ADHD that really enables me to have so many interests and the energy to pursue them.
Development director is probably a lot of things. But you are also a dietitian, a chef, and a farmer. How do you manage wearing all those hats — and what takes up most of your time? I am all those things indeed! The best thing is that all of those hats revolve around food. I switch them often and multiple times a day. My development director hat I put on the most with CCUA, and then farming I would say would be my second most used hat.
Where does your passion for food and food education come from? Art is actually my passion that led to food creation and education. I love colors and noticing those colors were the most vibrant in my dad’s garden when I was little. After diving into different mediums of art, I started cooking food and taking photos of food — making “edible art,” essentially. This was a plus because I could make a piece of art, then eat it, too! I went to school to be a dietitian and learn the science behind these nutrients each food possesses and how it is digested and converted to energy in the body. Creating more depth to my edible art.
What are your favorite dishes to prepare? Anything colorful, tasty, and local. Shakshuka with local eggs, smoked whole chickens we butchered on the farm, grass-fed, grass-finished cuts, and actually charcuterie boards because I like to see how people create different combinations. And add edible flowers onto all those!
What time does your day start? What’s your morning, prework routine? I start my day at 5:30 a.m. and have coffee with my fiancé, Tanner. After a sip, I’ll do an hour of a baseline workout to get my body warmed up and create a solid foundation. I will then eat breakfast (thanks to our chickens for the farm eggs) and go make sure everyone else has breakfast and is hydrated as well. This means checking and moving our egg layers, geese, meat chickens, and herd of twenty cattle to new grass and filling waterers.
Then I will take off for work with my lunch. After work, I’m filling farm orders, weeding, tending to the garden, and chipping away at big projects. It also includes dinner, of course! It always consists of carbs, protein from the farm, fiber, and fat. Tanner and I will usually wind down with a YouTube clip and piece of chocolate.
What’s usually at the top of your to-do list when your workday starts?
Top of my list would be sending thank-you notes, which is so fun! I have always loved sending mail, and I get to send mail to community members who have donated to help CCUA accomplish its mission. Then I will go through my email and get back to anyone who might need something. I am typically planning tours around CCUA’s farm and scheduling speaking events to get the word out about the work we do and asking for donations.
Some people are better at planning and strategizing. Some are better at executing the plans. Where do you fall on that scale? I execute. I want to try it out right away to a fault sometimes. If I fail, I always learn faster.
THIS is non-negotiable. You won’t be distracted from doing THIS. What is THIS? With my ADHD, I’m easily distracted, but I can hyperfocus on food photography! Tanner is a trooper, and we usually have to reheat these pretty pics.
What attracted you to working at CCUA? CCUA is building a hub for change in our food system, and I want to be a part of something positive that is bigger than myself. We are currently building the Welcome Center that will house a commercial kitchen, event center, resource library, and offices. The commercial kitchen is where I see people learning lifelong skills that they pass down for generations. I see a class walking over to the farm and harvesting ingredients — learning, for example, what bok choy is, when it’s in season, how hard it is to grow — and then walking, and then walking back over to the kitchen and creating a delicious, nutrient-dense meal that they will cook again in their kitchen.
I see all community members using it, no matter their income level. I see these skills and also preventative health occurring through this type of learning that will decrease diet-related diseases, and the dietitian side of me loves that! By eating healthier, we can all feel better, and we deserve to feel our very best and enjoy life! We only have one of them.
If you could tell your younger self what you wish you had known or knew to look out for, what would that be? Lean into what you like and like you for you! You don’t have to be well rounded. Aces in their places.
So what time is lunch? What are you having? Lunch is between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for me. It’s chopped chef style, never the same, usually leftover combo.
What do your friends not understand about what you do? Farming. A lot of my friends ask why I do this. It’s physically and mentally hard: Animals die a lot, bugs bite, I’m sweaty and dirty — but I love it. There’s something about being on the land and working it with your hands. Or caring for an animal, and then it ultimately feeds you and gives you the fuel to connect with those friends and enjoy life.
What time is your workday finished? 5 p.m.
What’s for dinner? Who will you share that meal with? The grill and anything in my cast irons is for dinner. Maybe a nice steak with some garlic, brie potatoes and greens from the garden, or fresh chicken fajita tacos with chipotle mayo sauce. Meals don’t have to be fancy; they should be complete and fuel you. I always share my meals with Tanner. He is also an amazing cook!
What do you do to unwind in the evening, and what time does your head hit the pillow? My head has to hit the pillow around 9p.m., or I turn into a pumpkin.
What is your favorite animal on farm? Chickens. I’m that crazy chicken lady after all. … They are fluffy, and each one has its own personality. I swear they are better than TV! In the city limits, you can have six hens, so you should think about getting some, and I’m happy to help.
