Cultivating Connections: Interview with Bri Gonzalez, SCCG Volunteer
By SCCG Gardener, Kathleen Gurnett
If anyone epitomizes the concept of “connection,” it is Bri Gonzalez. Bri is a familiar face to anyone who has come to the San Carlos Community Garden’s produce swap every fourth Saturday. A nutritionist and certified lactation counselor, Bri practices a philosophy focused on roots and how food connects us to not only ourselves but to the community around us and the Earth that is our home.
If you go to Bri’s Instagram page (@briandaeats), you will see beautiful photographs of not only food but also of nature because Bri focuses her life on connections. Gorgeous fruits and vegetables, perfectly baked bread, and water droplets on a leaf come together in Bri’s world.
SCCG: Hi Bri! How did you come to get involved in the Garden?
Bri and fellow SCCG volunteers at a recent SCCG Produce Swap.
Bri: The reason I ended up at the Garden is really fun. It was 2019 and I started coming here with my friend from college. We were both studying food science at SDSU. She said to me, “You should come with me to the swap that I host.” I came to a couple of them with her being the hostess. They were so fun I was planning to come to all of them. Then she told me she was going to be married and had too many commitments to focus on the swap. She asked if I would take over the swap and I thought it would be so awesome. Now it’s been like five or six years.
SCCG: So you took over right before COVID. How did that impact the swap?
Bri: That whole year when I started taking over we were all masked. And new faces started popping up. People wanted to be at the swap, bringing everything they had harvested because more than ever they had so much time for gardening. It was a very cool connection that we all needed and craved. Now I have regulars who have been there literally from the beginning and they come every Saturday.
SCCG: You have a degree in food science. What attracted you to that field?
Bri: I was into science and art, and food allows us to not only fuel ourselves but it’s also a big part of connecting with the planet, with culture, with history, with now and with the future. Farm to fork, garden to fork, that connection with the planet and fueling ourselves.
Obviously, we all need to eat, but if no one teaches you to find the root cause or how to eat, there can be a difficult relationship with food. I work at a nonprofit, WIC (the Women, Infants & Children nutrition program) with my own little clinic in North Park.
I also recipe on the side. I’ve worked on cookbooks and recipe-writing for small businesses, but I’m mostly doing that community work with women and infants. I fell in love with food at a very, very deep level and now I get to talk about it every day at work.
SCCG: Do you garden yourself?
Bri: I do what you might call container gardening. I’ve grown strawberries and tomatoes at home. But I’m the lady that makes everything from scratch and that’s what I bring to the swap—jams and sourdough bread. They know me as the “sourdough lady.” I share the starter with anyone who wants to start their own bread journey.
SCCG: You said you create recipes. Can you talk a little about your Instagram page where you share them?
Bri: It’s a local food Instagram page that I began in college. I didn’t want to post on my regular page because what if that annoys people? So I began this page and the people who follow me are so sweet. They are like the people at the garden. You have to be a certain type of person to come here and enjoy this, savor this. You are the type of person who appreciates taking something from nature and creating something delicious. I make dishes from my culture or from a culture I just found out about.
SCCG: You mention culture as being part of the food experience. Are there any cuisines that are your favorites?
Bri: I come from a subtropical part of Mexico, so anything that is from a tropical place. I’m drawn to food from Hawaii or food from Puerto Rico. They say that oftentimes your body craves and thrives in places you’re geographically from.
SCCG: Obviously, the Garden community is so lucky to have you involved with it. But what you to San Diego in the first place?
Bri: I grew up in Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks, then my parents moved to Simi Valley. I went to middle school and high school there. They then moved to Santa Clarita where they still live. I’m first-gen (first generation college student) so my parents just figured “if she gets good grades, she’ll make it.” They didn’t know how to guide me. I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I applied to about nine colleges and eight accepted me. I thought, “I have options?”
Honestly, I had been here only for SeaWorld and a Chargers game. I chose SDSU because it was going to be far enough and close enough to home. I didn’t realize the beauty, the essence of San Diego. I feel so lucky because of how I was able to connect with the place. How many people go off to college and then end up at their community garden?
SCCG: And, for those who have never been to the SCCG Produce Swap, can you describe in your words, what should participants expect?
Join Bri in the San Carlos Community Garden on the 4th Saturday of every month from 9:30 to 11:00am for our Produce Swap!
Bring your fruit, veggies, herbs, flowers, and recipes and swap with one another! This is what Growing Community is all about!
Bri: You can expect to meet really beautiful people who love growing their own food at home or in our community garden. Everyone comes in proud of what they’ve grown, and it’s a space to learn from each other, share tips, and swap recipes. Abundance turns into community. What you don’t need, someone else can enjoy, so nothing goes to waste.
One of my favorite things is how everyone brings a little piece of themselves and their culture through what they grow and share, making each swap a fun, flavorful adventure.
Families, kids, and dogs are all welcome, which makes the event lively and full of joy.
You’ll find herbs, fruits, vegetables, plant cuttings, sourdough, jams, homemade crafts and sometimes live music!
SCCG: Last, but certainly not least, what’s one of your favorite recipes that you often get asked to share?
Bri: You can often find one of my seasonal chia seed jams at the swap. It’s a fun way to upcycle extra herbs and fruits into a fiber-rich topping for toast, yogurt, or smoothies. [Scroll down to find Bri’s Chia Seed Jam recipe. Enjoy!]
Bri’s Chia Seed Jam recipe
Ingredients (makes ~1 cup):
1 cup fresh or frozen berries (your choice of berry)
1–2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (adjust to taste)
2 tbsp chia seeds
2–3 fresh basil or mint leaves, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions:
Combine berries, honey, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat.
Gently mash the berries with a fork or potato masher as they warm, letting them soften and release their juices (about 5–7 minutes).
Remove from heat, stir in chia seeds and basil. The jam will thicken as it cools.
Taste and adjust sweetness. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
