Meet The Food Trust's market managers

Farmers' Market Program Manager Nicky Uy

Nicky loves food and is thrilled to be living in Philadelphia, surrounded by the local bounty that the city’s farmers’ markets have to offer. Nicky's passion for markets is best described by her husband Jason who commented during their year-long trip to South East Asia: “Another day, another market...” For Nicky, the best days are those that include a trip to the local market for a meal, fresh produce, some snacks, or just for the blissful enjoyment of it all – the sights, the smells, the sounds, and of course the people and the food.

Nicky is responsible for the planning, development, implementation and day-to-day management of the Food Trust's signature Farmers’ Market Program. She is always on the look out for new farmers, new locations and new partners for markets. Previously, Nicky worked as a logistics and transportation IT consultant providing blue-chip clients with software to manage resources and to show real-time visibility of their products.

Headhouse Market Manager Katy Wich

Katy grew up in Northern Bucks County drinking raw milk from a local dairy and eating fresh seasonal produce from her Pennsylvania Dutch neighbor’s farm.  She feels very lucky to have grown up surrounded by farms - and their farm stands - where her family could buy straight from the producer.  From the late 1980s on, it became increasingly apparent that the farms were disappearing due to development.

During graduate studies in Jamaica and England she realized the opportunity to incorporate her love for farms into her desire to strengthen community health.  In Kingston, Jamaica - where she loved eating traditional dishes made from the freshest local fruits and vegetables - she worked with school children who were more interested in eating from fast food restaurants.  She helped devise a nutrition curriculum for the school based on understanding and appreciating the great taste and high nutritional content of native Caribbean fruits and vegetables.

In London she interned for Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming in the UK.  After her experience there she decided to write her master’s thesis about how the agriculture policies of the US and the EU affect the environment, small producers and agricultural economies of developing nations. Katy joined The Food Trust after receiving her masters in International Service. 

Clark Park Market Manager Jon Glyn

Jon grew up in Marlton, New Jersey. After high school, he took off, backpacking through Israel and Egypt. He lived on a kibbutz farm on the Mediterranean coast and one located in the northern mountains, working in a fish farm, a dairy farm and a children’s zoo but mostly he worked picking one of Israel’s main exports: bananas. It would be his first experience working in the food chain but it wouldn’t be his last.

Jon came home to go to college. During his first year of college, he was a certified lube technician at a Marlton car wash while commuting to school, but he dreamed of doing more. He transferred to Rutgers University where he studied the earth sciences, geology, tree identification, American folklore and ended up with a degree in English literature. While in college, Jon got his first job cooking. For the next eight years, he cooked in all kinds of restaurants, from a brewpub to a greasy spoon diner to a Latino night club. One summer, he took a break from cooking and was lucky to be employed on the Rutgers farms, driving tractors, fixing fences and baling hay.

After college, Jon tried some corporate jobs then took a job at a Kensington charter school, teaching 9th grade literature, writing and vocabulary. He quit teaching and, after cooking in Philadelphia for a spell, joined The Food Trust. Jon is part of the Recreation Center’s Nutrition Program and the Farmers’ Market Program.