National Farm to School Network Webinar: Building Community Capacity & Regional Collaborations for Farm to School

BUILDING COMMUNITY CAPACITY & REGIONAL COLLABORATIONS FOR FARM TO SCHOOL

Peter Allison, FINE Network Director Dec. 9th 1 pm | NFSN Webinar

BACKGROUND & STRATEGIES�I.  WHO WE ARE�II.  FINE’S VISION & GOALS�III.  GETTING STARTED�IV.  CASE FOR INSTITUTIONS�V.  REGIONAL APPROACH�VI.  PARTNERS, FUNDERS, TEAM�VII.  STRATEGIES�

PART I�

www.farmtoinstitution.org

We’re a six-state network of non-profit, public and private entities with a mission to strengthen our food system by increasing the amount of New England-grown and processed food served in our region’s schools,

hospitals, colleges and other institutions.

WHAT IS FINE?�


OUR VISION�

MORE VIABLE FARM & FOOD ENTERPRISES��GOOD JOBS & A STRONG AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY��A ROBUST REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE��CONSISTENT ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, HEALTHY FOOD FOR ALL INSTITUTIONAL CONSUMERS

OUR GOALS�

ALL NEW ENGLAND INSTITUTIONS PREFERENTIALLY PURCHASE�REGIONALLY-PRODUCED FOOD


HOW WE GOT STARTED�NEW ENGLAND AGRICULTURAL

COMMISSIONERS NORTHEAST REGIONAL FARM TO SCHOOL NETWORK


•  They are market makers: institutions purchase over $1 billion of food per year in New England alone

•  They provide a diversified market for regional producers, especially mid-sized farms and ranches

•  They serve meals to over 3 million people per year, including many who are at-risk nutritionally and/or economically

WHY INSTITUTIONS?�


•  There’s an imbalance in the New England food shed, with more producers in the north and more consumers in the south

•  Food is already being moved around the region by food distributors and food service management companies

•  New England is geographically small, making regional collaboration convenient and practical

WHY A REGIONAL APPROACH?�


FEATURED PARTNERS�Our network includes dozens of non-profits, institutions, government agencies and private companies that work together for collective impact. Meet a few of them!


FUNDING PARTNERS�FINE has gratefully received financial support from the United States Department of Agriculture, John Merck Fund, Henry P. Kendall Foundation, Jane’s Trust and anonymous funders. Our funders are also key strategic partners.

JANE’S TRUST


OUR TEAM�LEADERSHIP

CORE STAFF Peter Allison Network Director Hartland, VT Nessa Richman Planning & Development Kingston, RI Kaitlin Haskins Communications Sharon, VT Riley Neugebauer Farm to College Lincolnville, ME

Charlene Anderson New Hampshire Community Loan Fund Kimberly Clark Farm Fresh Rhode Island Stacia Clinton Health Care Without Harm, New England Cris Coffin American Farmland Trust, New England Jiff Martin University of Connecticut Extension Ken Morse Community Food Strategies Abbie Nelson NOFA-VT & Vermont FEED John Waite Franklin County CDC; FINE Fiscal Manager


OUR STRATEGIES�

CONVENINGS� NETWORKING�

TECHNICAL�ASSISTANCE�

RESEARCH�

EDUCATION� COMMUNICATIONS�


I. CORPORATE FOOD SERVICE �ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT�II. FARM TO COLLEGE�III. DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH & ACTION�IV. PROCESSING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE �

CURRENT COLLABORATIONS�

PART II�


CORPORATE FOOD SERVICE �ACCOUNTABILITY�


FARM TO COLLEGE NETWORK�


FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROJECTS�


FOOD PROCESSING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE�


I. EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES�II. OUR NEW WEBSITE�III. GET IN TOUCH!

WHAT’S A HEAD�PART III�


•  Shared farm to institution metrics

•  Farmer wholesale readiness •  FTI in food system plans /

procurement policy •  Collaborative dev. and

innovation fund •  State FTI networks •  Farm to Institution Summit,

Spring 2015!

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES�


OUR NEW WEBSITE!�

FINE Flash: Sign Up Here!


PETER ALLISON, network director�[email protected]

NESSA RICHMAN, planning + dev.�[email protected]

KAITLIN HASKINS, communications�[email protected]

VISIT US ONLINE�www.farmtoinstitution.org

GIVE US A CALL�(802) 478-0078

BE IN TOUCH�

Government & Nonprofit

National Farm to School Network Webinar: Building Community Capacity & Regional Collaborations for Farm to School