Vanessa Beltran

Vanessa Beltran is the Director of Education at the Sustainable Food Center in Austin, Texas. A registered dietitian with graduate training in public health and the ethics of health equity, her work sits at the intersection of food systems, culture, and community health. Raised between Mexico City and Houston, she brings a culturally grounded perspective to program design that centers community voice and self-determination. She directs staff across three regional offices in Lubbock, Austin, and Houston, leading The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre, a bilingual culinary nutrition program rooted in participant-centered learning and peer facilitation. Her team delivers culturally sustaining culinary nutrition education across the state, including to Double Up Food Bucks Texas participants, and she manages a growing network of replication partners that extends the organization's reach and impact beyond its direct service regions.

For 50 years, the Sustainable Food Center has worked to strengthen health, land, and livelihoods across Texas through programs and advocacy spanning food access, farm viability, community education and support, and policy. Its producer-only farmers' markets bring local, seasonal food to Central Texas communities while supporting small-scale farmer livelihoods. As the statewide administrator of Double Up Food Bucks Texas, SFC doubles SNAP and WIC purchasing power for fresh fruits and vegetables, strengthening community nutrition and local farm economies. The SFC Help Desk, staffed by promotoras, helps Texans navigate food resources and programs across the state. The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre bridges food access and utilization through culturally sustaining community education. SFC advocates for food policies that support small-scale farmers and expand food assistance programs across Texas.