From left: Christine Going, Bevan Linsley, Bruce Thompson
The Rhode Island Food Policy Council Board of Directors welcomed three new members at its retreat in August 2026, growing the board from six to nine members. “The expertise of these new members will benefit our board and the Council overall,” says Steven Arthurs, RIFPC’s board chair, citing their experience with food access and food insecurity programs as well as prior board experience. “We look forward to our work with them.”
Christine Going
Christine recently retired as a senior advisor for the Veterans Health Administration’s Food Security Office. She served on the board of directors of Island Harvest Food Bank, the Feeding America Food Bank for Long Island, New York, work that included facilitating a memorandum of understanding between the Northport Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and Island Harvest to provide a mobile food pantry on campus every two weeks along with a weekly farmer’s market. She has testified in front of Congress on behalf of the Veterans Health Administration on the importance of ensuring food and nutrition security for our veterans.
A registered dietitian, she is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. She teaches at Rhode Island College as an adjunct professor and lives in Wakefield.
Bevan Linsley
Bevan has an extensive background in management and community organizing, specializing in
organizational structure and development, strategic planning, group process facilitation, and fund development. She currently consults in these areas and as a grant writer. Most recently, Bevan served as the founding executive director of Aquidneck Community Table, based in Newport, where she led the organization in building food system change through expansion of farmers markets, creation of school gardens, community gardens, and youth education programs, and the development of community partnerships.
Before moving to Rhode Island in 1998, Bevan lived in Denver, Colorado, where she graduated from the Non-Profit Management Program at Metropolitan State College while working in every aspect of an inner-city community center. Many of her subsequent roles in building young organizations and businesses grew from this early interest in the intersection of community and food systems.
Bevan has served on the RI Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission since 2019. She is an avid gardener, reader, cook, and recycler. She lives in Pawtucket.
Bruce Thompson
Bruce is a community advocate, urban farmer, and nonprofit leader committed to advancing food justice, health equity, and community empowerment across Rhode Island. As Food Access Coordinator for the Sankofa Initiative at West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation, he works to connect underserved residents with nutritious food, essential resources, and opportunities for community engagement through Sankofa Farm’s urban agriculture programs.
Bruce’s dedication to food access is deeply rooted in his own experience growing up with severe food insecurity, giving him a firsthand understanding of the barriers many families face. This lived experience fuels his passion for creating equitable food systems that promote dignity, opportunity, and long-term community well-being.
Guided by his faith and commitment to service, Bruce founded Empower Your People, a nonprofit organization focused on uplifting vulnerable populations through outreach, youth development, mentorship, and motivational speaking. He is a Certified National Community Health Worker, former AmeriCorps member, and ambassador for the Epilepsy Foundation New England. He lives in Olneyville.