Alaina Mary Shields

Alaina earned a BA with honors and highest distinction in public policy, and a BA with highest distinction in environmental studies on the sustainability track, with a minor in food studies. In her senior year, Alaina completed a senior undergraduate honors thesis in the Department of Public Policy titled “From Fields to Food Banks: A Comparative Analysis of the USDA’s Farm-to-Food Bank Program’s Impact on Farm-Level Loss and Food Security.” Combining her academic interests with her passion for food equity, she worked as an advocacy intern for the Eva Clayton Rural Food Institute in Henderson, North Carolina, and as a FIELD Fellow with the Farmlink Project at the Denver-based nonprofit We Don’t Waste. Her proudest accomplishments came from studying equitable foodways and food culture in Italy, Thailand, and South Korea, experiences that deepened her commitment to just food systems. Above all, the close friendships she built at Carolina remain one of her most meaningful achievements.