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Is it just me or are the birds outside my office chirping the tune of my daughter's favorite song from Snow White? 'Whistle While You Work' is certainly the vibe at our house: the garden beds are being built, sticks are being stacked, and seeds are going in the ground. Spring is actually here.
In the spirit of the new season, the Partnership welcomed new members from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) and Maine Network of Community Food Councils (MNCFC). We are focused on supporting our State Department of Agriculture representatives as they deploy new USDA funds for value chain coordination including but not limited to business support and market development, management coaching, strategic plan assistance, equipment implementation, capital planning, and more. Many of our partners and affiliates are slated to provide this technical assistance. It will be critical for us to continue to align this work across the six states to ensure that the investments strategically strengthen the entire regional supply-chain.
There have been important legislative strides in Rhode Island and Massachusetts this month. RI DEM, working with partner organizations Farm Fresh Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, was awarded a total of $1.78 million to purchase local foods for distribution within the state through the EAT Local Foods Act. MA Food Systems Collaborative rallied support for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) on Lobby Day, calling for $5.1 million in FY24 and $25 million in FY25 to ensure uninterrupted access to fresh, nourishing food for households with SNAP benefits. The EAT Local Foods Act and HIP both stand as shining examples of Rhode Island and Massachusetts' respective leadership in effective policy to address hunger and support local food systems.
Another example of building a better regional food system comes from the announcement of the Kendall Foundation's 2024 New England Food Vision Prize, which will award $1 million to organizations in the region. The primary objective of the program is to foster collaboration and create new ways of working together on shared challenges and goals - food associated with the project must be grown/sourced from New England. Letters of Interest can be submitted now through May 31, 2024.
It's clear on multiple fronts that the New England states are committed to supporting a regional, sustainable and equitable food system. We know that in order to reach the 30% by 2030 goal, we must produce, grow, harvest, catch and source more local and regional food - only then can we be more resilient in the face of climate challenges, economically competitive and equitable in everyone's ability to access to healthy food every day.
Leah
Director, New England Food System Planners Partnership
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Local Food Counts Project
What percent of our food supply is being grown, sold and consumed in the region?
As you may know, a goal of the 10-year New England Feeding New England project is to conduct Local Food Counts to develop a 2022 baseline estimate for the amount of food being produced and consumed within the region. We closed our survey collection period on March 15th, and are now in the phase of debriefing, reporting and building visualized data dashboards to showcase our findings.
We look forward to having this early stage understanding for the other 5 states and are in conversation about more specific steps the Partnership can take to build momentum for the next count in 2026 (which will reflect 2025 data).
The LFC team consisted of lead analysts and research assistants in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine, in collaboration with Farm to Institution New England.
| *Vermont's Local Food Count data was collected in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020. VT Farm to Plate developed the peer reviewed methodology and the process roadmap we followed. | |
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The NE Dairy Innovation Summit was held in Albany, NY in early April. Market Demand Team Leader for the report, Holly Fowler, led a panel on building a resilient food system - and specifically explored dairy's role in regional self-reliance.
The goal of this year's summit was to chart a strategic path forward to a resilient and thriving regional dairy sector.
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Farm to Plate's Land Access and Land Use Topic Exchange recently explored the intersection of farmland and climate change. It included connections to statewide plans in Vermont, and regional efforts and initiatives including New England Feeding New England and the state's current Climate Action Plan (CAP) - as well as looking toward the creation of a new CAP starting in 2025.
Brian Donahue, who was part of the team that developed Volume 2 of the report, joined to share high-level data on land use and access with the group.
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Thank you to all of the attendees for their insight, ideas and energy! | |
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Always with a lens of systems change from the inside-out, Annie Doran manages and co-creates cross-sector collaborations such as the Maine Food Convergence Project, as well as consults with nonprofits to conduct values-based & community-informed strategic planning.
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MNCFC is organized by statewide coordinator, Darcy Cooke. Darcy works closely with a lead team to guide the overall direction, funding, and collaboration of the network. She is also the Energy Efficiency Coordinator for UMA-Bangor as part of the Americorps/Maine Partnership for Environmental Stewardship.
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The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) serves as the chief steward of the state's natural resources - from beautiful Narragansett Bay to our local waters and green spaces to the air we breathe. Our mission put simply is to protect, restore, and promote our environment to ensure Rhode Island remains a wonderful place to live, visit, and raise a family. Our two new Supporting Partners from RI DEM are pictured to the right.
RI DEM works collaboratively with our Partners at RI Commerce and Rhode Island Food Policy Council. We're excited to have them represented here.
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Ananda Fraser, Environmental Policy Analyst II | Jack Sisson, Chief Program Development, Agricultural Grants | | | |
Our Partnership is actively aligning and working together across our states to most effectively distribute middle-of-the-supply-chain funding | |
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USDA-AMS is working across states to design and build resilience in the middle-of-the-supply-chain and strengthen regional and local food systems through the creation of new revenue streams in the areas of aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of local agricultural products. Each State Department of Agriculture is managing a different amount of funds, timelines and corresponding criteria but all will offer funds via two grant programs: Infrastructure and Equipment.
The following grant application is opening soon:
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Vermont
- Infrastructure Grant - open to apply May 1, 2024
- Equipment Grant - will post in late August 2024
Rhode Island's Infrastructure and special equipment use grant application period closed on January 21, 2024. New Hampshire and Massachusetts' Infrastructure grant programs closed on March 29, 2024; Equipment grant programs will open in early 2025. Connecticut's Infrastructure grant closed April 10th; Equipment grant will post in February 2025. Maine's Infrastructure grant closed April 29, 2024; their Equipment grant will post in October 2024.
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Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP)
Another USDA-AMS program, RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. Its focus is to strengthen the viability and resilience of regional food economies through collaboration and coordination. There are two types of projects: 24-month Planning and Design and 36-month Implementation and Expansion with different costing ranges.
RFSP applications are now open through May 14, 2024.
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Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
The RCPP is a program of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It supports a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land.
RCPP projects fall under two categories: RCPP Classic and RCPP Grants.
RCPP applications are now open through July 2, 2024.
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Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC)
Established as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, and hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, the NE-DBIC funds the development of direct technical assistance, contracts, and grants that benefit dairy businesses, including niche dairy products such as specialty cheese and other products derived from cow, goat, and sheep milk. They have three funding programs which support Dairy Farmers, Dairy Processors and Dairy Service Providers.
Goat & Sheep Dairy Development Grant are now open through June 6, 2024
Additionally, Dairy Processors can apply for the Dairy Product Trade Show Assistance Grant which is open through June 25, 2024.
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We are developing a new Data Dashboard to reflect the data from our report: A Regional Approach to Food System Resilience. An important feature of the dashboard is that you'll be able to toggle between regional, state and county level views for most data visualizations. We hope to share the release of the entire data dashboard in the May newsletter. | |
This graphic shows how farmland has decreased from 1945 to 2022. In order to reach 30% by 2030, we will need an additional 588,430 acres in farmland. You can see that this is a relatively small lift in comparison to the over 10.1 million acres that have been lost in agricultural farmland since 1945. It's clear there is work to do to produce more of the food we need to be self-reliant in New England, but these data points help us to visually understand where we might direct our attention. | |
Data Sources: US Census of Agriculture (multiple years), New England Feeding New England: A Regional Approach to Food System Resilience | |
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The Partnership is excited to introduce you to a few of the dynamic, innovative regional, state and community-level organizations we support.
Through this alignment, we can continue to work towards the New England Feeding New England goal of '30% by 2030!'
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The Independent Retailers Shared Services Cooperative (IRSSC) seeks ways to boost the local economy by supporting local producers and promoting their products through participating grocers and businesses in their Buy-Local Loyalty Program. The program was created in response to the pandemic and climate challenges that pose a threat to our existing supply chain.
There is a massive marketing disparity caused by major US suppliers who have more resources, especially revenue and funding to market their brands. The Buy-Local Loyalty Program seeks to address this hurdle for farms and producers who pick, harvest, grow, and make local and regional products. This in turn, helps lower costs for consumers while also ensuring famers are paid fairly for their hard work. It also increases support for local businesses and the economy by driving collaboration and incentive for grocers and businesses to promote local producers.
Supporting independent retailers helps to create jobs, foster entrepreneurship, and enhance the overall economic well-being of our communities. They play a critical role in our ability to be more self-reliant in the region.
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Regional Food System Jobs | |
Thank you to the growing list of regional and state-level organizations who have invited us to speak about our Partnership and the report! | |
Understanding what it is happening across the nation in food systems work helps to inform and show us perspectives, opportunities and challenges. | |
The New England Food System Planners Partnership (NEFSPP) is a collaboration amongst six state-level food system organizations, six-state agricultural agency representatives and Food Solutions New England (FSNE), a regional network that unites the food system community. Together, we are mobilizing our networks to impact local and regional food supply chains, in turn, strengthening and growing New England's food system. The Partnership works together to disseminate information on trends, challenges and opportunities in alignment with FSNE's New England Food Vision, and with hundreds of groups and organizations involved in food systems development across the region. | | | | |
