Bee Thorp serves as the Lead Farm to School Specialist at the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs. In this role, she spearheads initiatives to advance scratch cooking, local food procurement, and student-driven meal programs across child nutrition settings. With the Virginia Farm to School program, Bee fosters partnerships with national, state, and local stakeholders to strengthen connections between Virginia farms, school cafeterias, classrooms, and outdoor learning environments.

Bee has over 15 years of experience with building resilient local food systems across public, private, and nonprofit sectors in the U.S. and abroad. She is deeply committed to advancing student learning while driving innovation and growth in Virginia's agricultural industry. She holds a Master’s degree in Food Studies from Chatham University.