New England Feeding New England Newsletter
Cultivating a Reliable Food Supply
A project of the New England State Food System Planners Partnership
March 2022 | Issue 3
Project Summary
In 2019, the New England State Food System Planners Partnership launched the New England Feeding New England: Cultivating A Reliable Food Supply Project, a 10-year initiative to prepare the region for system shocks such as climate-related weather events and public health emergencies. Our aim is to increase regional food production for regional consumption. We can improve the reliability of our regional food system by strengthening supply chains and our goal is for 30% of food consumed in New England to be produced or harvested in New England by 2030.
Outreach Updates
New England Feeding New England’s Next Quarterly Update Meeting

Please join us at our Next Quarterly Update Meeting on Tuesday, March 8 at 1:15pm.
This meeting will be a space to learn more about this project, which is in the planning and research phase. Nic Rockler, one of the project researchers, will talk about his work to demonstrate the economic impact of the food system within New England. Nic has over 35 years experience as a regional economist and worked at the Multiregional Planning Group at MIT.
Research Updates
Food Systems Resilience Assessment
As part of the New England Feeding New England project we are developing a Food Systems Resilience Assessment tool for municipal and regional planners, community organizations, and other food system advocates to plan and prepare for food system disruptions within a broader resilience framework. We are partnering with researchers at Vermont Law School to develop the assessment tool and over the fall and winter hosted several focus group sessions with planners and food systems advocates to gather ideas and feedback. In addition, we are working with the nascent North Country Food Council in NH to pilot the assessment in the North Country region in the coming year. 

While various community food security assessments and toolkits exist, we have identified a gap in the way food systems resilience more broadly - including issues of local and regional food production, supply, distribution, and equitable access - is incorporated in typical community and regional planning processes. This tool will provide planners and community leaders with the information and resources they need to integrate food system resilience into their planning and community development activities. 

For example, cities may incorporate the assessment into their Climate Change Adaptation plans or Emergency Planning Responses. Other communities may use the tool to identify needed areas of investment for Economic Development plans. Community organizations and food councils may use the tool to prioritize projects and justify financial support. Most importantly, the tool will help leaders and planners and ensure that their communities have a reliable, equitable food supply now and into the future. 

Do you have ideas to share about the food systems resilience assessment? We welcome your feedback. Feel free to take our survey and email Tanya Swain if you would like an invitation to our next focus group session.
NEFNE Researcher Quantifies the Size of the New England Food System
One NEFNE researcher has combined three sources of data to understand how many people were working in food system jobs from 2010 - 2020 and to understand how many food related businesses there are in New England. Data came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, and the USDA’s Census of Agriculture.

This data will help provide a common understanding of the breadth of the food system and to allow researchers to note changes over time. This information will also add to the overall picture of the regional food system and will provide a baseline when envisioning how the food system may need to shift to support the goals of ensuring that 30% of food is produced in the region.

The graph below shows the change in employment in the food system, by state, from 2002 through 2020.
A Regional Imperative: The Case For Regional Food Systems
The New England Feeding New England project is focused on strengthening the regional food system so that 30% of food consumed in New England will be produced or harvested in the region by 2030. However, there is some confusion between the definition of a local food system and a regional one. Many people are more familiar with a local food system however, a regional food system is larger, more diverse, and offers more opportunity for self reliance, according to a new draft report, A Regional Imperative: The Case For Regional Food Systems. 

They write, “We are convinced that employing a regional framework is a critical step towards food system resilience and justice, especially in the face of climate change, the pandemic and continuing racial injustices. Greater movement in this direction requires a commitment to collaboration across political boundaries and to embedding regional thinking in all food systems change work.”

The authors are currently seeking comments pertaining to race and racial equity in regional food systems.
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