Local woman named to LEAD New York

Kristina Sidor is not only the product of North Fork farming culture, she is passionate about preserving that culture as a way of life on the East End.

The 28-year-old Mattituck native and office manager at Riverhead’s Suah Center on Roanoke Avenue has been embedded in the local farming world since her youth – working for her grandparents at Northville Farm and doing tractor work on her father’s North Fork acreage – and her agricultural passion has only grown.

For the past seven years, Sidor has been actively advocating for area farmers through her work with the Long Island Farm Bureau, most notably in extending helping hands to young farmers looking to literally dig into the North Fork’s agricultural scene.

And now, she’s been accepted by a statewide agricultural leadership program that could help take that advocacy to another level.

LEAD New York is a program that helps improve communication, leadership, issue analysis and networking skills for “committed individuals who wish to step up and make a difference in our food, agricultural, and natural resource industries,” according to its website.

And that’s exactly what Sidor hopes to do.

“I don’t want want to be the person to complain,” she said. “I want to be the person that tries to make a difference.”

Sidor said she treasured her acceptance into the two-year program, of which only 30 applicants are chosen.

“I was so excited because I had my heart set on doing this,” she said. “I think this is something I can really benefit from. My dad was also really happy. He knows I love the farm.”

Sidor begins her LEAD New York orientation in July.

In addition to the program’s upcoming seminars, workshops and field travel, Sidor will also be attending a one-year course at Manhattan’s Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

“I want to develop myself and utilize the skills I learn on Long Island,” she said. “Making sure our landscape stays in farming and that people continue to farm is essential to keeping our unique landscape.”

But it’s not just the look of the land that’s important to her.

The bounty that is East End produce is also something to be preserved for the health of its communities, she said.

“With the coming changes in US health care, it is important for people to learn how to stay healthy and a lot of staying healthy comes from having a healthy diet,” she said. “There’s so much food that’s produced out here and what’s better than knowing where your food is coming from while helping out your neighboring winemakers, farmers and fishermen at the same time?”