Extension's Jenn Parlin Among 2024 University of Arizona Women of Impact
The Extension Assistant Agent helped launch The Garden Kitchen and has worked to increase whole health awareness and food access.
University of Arizona
Jenn Parlin didn’t set out to be a University of Arizona food expert.
The Cooperative Extension assistant agent started her career in corporate America, applying her University of Florida bachelor’s degree in business management. But she didn’t like the world of profit, so she came to U of A in 2010 as an office specialist for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education.
Parlin helped create The Garden Kitchen in 2012, then earned a master’s degree in public health in 2014. She worked her way through several Garden Kitchen positions until her current 2020 appointment as assistant agent and SNAP-Ed administrator.
“It wasn’t on my bingo card really. I’ve always cooked, and I love food. I started cooking with my Nana on the chair next to the stove. But I didn’t know that being a food professional was something that would evolve in my life,” Parlin said.
She was recently named one of University of Arizona’s 2024 Women of Impact. The award is given annually by the Office of Research, Innovation & Impact to women on campus who drive discovery and innovation. Parlin’s supervisor, Pima County Cooperative Extension Director Claire Zucker, Ph.D., nominated her.
“Jenn has led her team to build partnerships and community relationships and to effect change in the community,” Zucker wrote in the nomination letter.
“She and her team recently provided critical support and coordination to re-open a much-needed neighborhood pocket park. Every Thursday morning, they offer gardening education to the community, and they have provided technical assistance to create community gardens all over Tucson.”
The Garden Kitchen is a whole health program. They examine ways to make policy and environmental changes to remove barriers to whole health and ensure that everyone has the same health opportunities, then combine that with direct education, Parlin said.
“We do a lot of early childhood education. We do a lot with adults in senior centers or libraries. We see folks at The Garden Kitchen with community programming. It’s all looking to moving the needle on population health, and that looks different for different people,” she said.
Though the overarching goal is systemic change, Parlin wants her work to have multi-faceted impact. She still teaches hands-on classes, and she sees a lot of personal impact through her team, whom she called her “brain trust,” she said.
“But I think we need systems level change to really make the difference. I can teach about fruits and vegetables all day, but if you have no access it doesn’t matter,” she said.
Parlin sees the Internet as a dual-edged sword. All the information is out there for anyone who needs it, but it’s often clouded by misinformation. So face-to-face education has to be part of the array of help Extension offers
“Sometimes having a professional come and tell you, ‘This is science. This is actually true’ can be important,” she said.
Parlin also recognizes the broader, deeper importance of food in culture.
The small garden behind The Garden Kitchen isn’t as much about growing food as it is about growing hearts and souls. It’s about social time and telling your family stories and having access to culturally relevant food. Sometimes it’s about being mindful and trauma informed. Food is much more than just nutrition, Parlin said.
“It’s also about whole health, so it’s very emotional. It’s very much about your soul. It’s about your story. It’s about your people, the things you love. I think it’s very much a love language to share your food. It’s part of who you are,” she said.
Through SNAP-Ed, Parlin has helped increase nutrition and physical activity knowledge and boost health equity and wellness. The Garden Kitchen has worked with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe on early childhood health and launched a successful program, PLAZA Market, that connects local farmers to consumers via a mobile produce market.
In the coming months, Parlin will work with Extension’s Family, Community and Health Sciences staff to increase mental wellness programming across the state. They’re developing resource lists and hope to incorporate mental wellness education into current programs, she said.
Parlin will receive the Women of Impact award at a November 7 ceremony. See the Office of Research, Innovation & Impact website for more information and a list of other Women of Impact. Learn more about the Garden Kitchen on their website.