Merced Vega Avendano, MS, RDN, CDN

Merced was born in Mexico and raised in Queens. She completed her Master’s degree in Nutrition and her Dietetic Internship at Hunter College. Merced started working in nutrition when she noticed the lack of healthy food and nutrition services in the Hispanic community. She gained over 3 years of experience working as a community nutritionist in under-served communities prior to pursuing a degree in nutrition. She worked at several programs including Department of Health’s Stellar Farmer’s Market Program and the Children’s Aid Go!Healthy program. She provided nutrition education and cooking classes to adults and children of all ages. Merced is interested in learning about other cultures and their foods. She enjoys helping people find creative ways to build healthy meals that include their traditional and favorite foods.

In her free time Merced enjoys long walks in new neighborhoods and exploring the diversity of local foods.