GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Following a successful Give BIG Green Bay campaign in February, Rooted In Inc. has entered a new phase of growth with expanded leadership and a new commercial kitchen space.
Founder Selena Darrow has been named CEO, and Alex Galt has joined the organization as Director of Programs, strengthening leadership capacity as Rooted In scales its work across the community.
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As part of that growth, the nonprofit has moved into a new commercial kitchen in Green Bay. The space will allow Rooted In to increase its ability to recover surplus food, produce individually packaged meals and expand partnerships focused on improving access to nutritious food.
For the past two and a half years, the organization operated under significant constraints. Food was stored in multiple locations, and meals were prepared during monthly cooking sessions in a non-commercial kitchen that required extensive setup and teardown.
The new facility includes a dedicated kitchen, attached storage, walk-in cooler and freezer, and improved transportation access — centralizing operations and allowing meals to reach the community more efficiently.
“This move helps us do the work in a way that finally makes sense,” Darrow said. “We’ve been proving the model. Now we have the infrastructure and the team to scale it.”
In 2025, Rooted In recovered more than 32,000 pounds of surplus food, transforming it into over 5,500 individually packaged meals distributed through community partners. Officials say the new space positions the nonprofit to significantly increase production.
The expansion comes as demand for food access in Brown County continues to rise. According to the organization, the community is seeing a 10% increase in need alongside a 6% drop in SNAP participation.
The new kitchen also expands volunteer opportunities, allowing for more frequent and flexible engagement from individuals, corporate groups and community partners.
“We’ll be able to bring more people into the work, more often,” Darrow said. “Not just to help, but to understand the impact firsthand.”
In addition to meal production, the space will support Rooted In’s culinary education programming rooted in a Food is Medicine approach, focusing on evidence-based curriculum, practical cooking skills, nutrition and long-term behavior change.
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“These are not just cooking classes,” Darrow said. “This is about helping people nourish themselves and their families in ways that work in real life and inspire long-term behavior change.”
Rooted In said additional details about volunteer opportunities and partnerships will be shared in the coming weeks.
