In June, Joanna Tamburino returned to Pittsburgh after a decade abroad to begin her position as the Triboro Ecodistrict Food Justice Coordinator. In this role, she will work directly with community members and organizations in support of an equitable, sustainable food system in Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg. Her goal is to connect food-focused efforts in all three communities and improve the reliability of the shared food system.
For most of her life, Joanna Tamburino has called East Liberty home. Just across the Allegheny River from Sharpsburg, she grew up eating fresh vegetables from her grandparents' garden and learning about her Italian-American heritage through family cooking.
These formative experiences sparked her passion for food and increasing access to it, eventually leading her across the pond to the United Kingdom, where she earned a master’s degree in medical anthropology from the University of Oxford. What particularly drew her was the university’s nutritional anthropology program, a specialization not offered at many institutions.
“Nutritional anthropology takes a biocultural approach to understanding human diet, examining how food, culture, and health influence one another across different societies and time periods," Tamburino said.
In June, Tamburino returned to Pittsburgh after a decade abroad to begin her position as the Triboro Ecodistrict Food Justice Coordinator. In this role, she will work directly with community members and organizations in support of an equitable, sustainable food system in Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg. Her goal is to connect food-focused efforts in all three communities and improve the reliability of the shared food system.
As she’s getting settled into the position, she’s keen to learn more about residents' relationships with their food system, what they feel is lacking, and how it can be done better.
“You can’t really improve things until you’ve talked to the people that live here and see what they want and need,” Tamburino said. “[Food] is an important part of people’s culture, their background, their childhood memories and how they bond to one another. I think there are infinite ways in which one can connect with the community over food.”
One of those ways is through gardening. Tamburino said she’s just as fond of growing food as she is of feeding people. For the past five years, she ran a community garden in South Oxfordshire, where the climate supported a year-round growing season. While she doesn’t have a preferred vegetable to tend, she focuses on cultivating varieties that are “rare and sometimes endangered.”
Given the UK’s mild winters, Tamburino grew a lot of chard and kale, which thrive in cool, damp climates. These same vegetables can be grown in Pittsburgh during the early spring or late summer, and hoop houses can help to extend the growing season, but the region’s environment doesn’t support deep-winter crops.
The Triboro Ecodistrict is located in Hardiness Zone 6b, where the average annual coldest temperature ranges from -5 to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This classification, which helps compare plant cold-hardiness across the United States, can guide the selection of suitable perennial plants based on their performance in similar regions. Between 2012 and 2023, the area's temperature has risen by 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Food is a way to connect on other issues that are going on in the community, whether it be the economy, politics, or the environment,” Tamburino said.
When asked about her favorite foods to cook, she gravitates toward soups, stews, and saucy dishes that remind her of her childhood. She and Trevor Southworth, operations manager at the Millvale Community Development Corporation, have already begun discussing opportunities for Tamburino to cook and share meals with people across Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg as a way to build relationships in the Triboro.
“I’m thrilled to get to know the three different communities and discover what connects them, what makes them unique, and what their individual needs are,” Tamburino said.
To learn more about Tamburino and her work or share your own experiences, email joanna@millvalecdc.org to schedule a meeting.
Did you know that the tops of most vegetables are edible? Tamburino shared this recipe for Carrot Top Pesto because it's "easy, delicious, versatile, and a great way to reduce food waste."
Recipe: Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients:
- Carrot tops from one bunch of carrots
- 6 tablespoons of coarsely chopped mint leaves
- 3-4 tablespoons flaked almonds
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Clean the carrot tops and remove the hard stems.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until finely chopped.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning and flavor. Add more oil if needed.
- Use as a sauce for pastas, sandwiches, meat, or veggies.
- It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.