Bredin has worked at the Orcas Food Coop since 2016, starting out in the grocery department and joining the produce department in fall of 2017. Before that she led many lives, working for a decade as an editor in NYC, where she became involved in the local food movement. She was a member of the infamous Park Slope Food Co-op and of the Astoria CSA, in which she was involved as an organizer and helped develop their subsidized share program, making organic, local produce accessible to more diverse members of the community.
After heading west in 2012 to pursue more work and study as an herbalist, she lived on Waldron Island for 3 years, growing and foraging her own food, living off-grid (without refrigeration or running water), and working on a local farm, Blue Moon Produce.
As an herbalist, Kristy has studied with Robin Rose Bennet in New York, studied clinical herbalism with Chanchal Cabrera in BC, and has studied and worked with local herbalist Ryan Drum for the past several years. She teaches on Orcas and in the region about seaweeds and wild foods and plant medicines of the islands. In 2017 she founded an Herbal Medicine Apprenticeship Program on Orcas, a unique field-based opportunity for local and regional students, featuring classes and retreats with Ryan Drum.
Since 2013 she has been sharing plant remedies of the northwest through her business Mermaid Botanicals and is currently inheriting Ryan Drum’s Island Herbs offerings, one of the country’s few purveyors of excellent quality, wildcrafted herbs.
As Produce Manager at the Orcas Food Co-op since fall 2018, she has prioritized local produce buying and launched the Eat Local Challenge, to help support the health of our community and to continue the Co-ops mission of working toward a sustainable future in the islands. A classically trained pianist and yoga enthusiast, Kristy enjoys these activities in her free time as well as swimming in the Salish Sea regularly (without a wetsuit!).
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At the Orcas Food Co-op we believe that healthy food is a basic human right.