Rhode Island Feeds

Rich Pederson, City Farm Steward, leading a seed starting workshop at last year's urban ag. kickoff

Southside Community Land Trust invites you to its 3rd annual Urban Agriculture Spring Kickoff, a day of family-friendly, food-growing fun on Saturday, March 3rd from 1:00-4:00pm. The kickoff will be hosted at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center – a sunny, warm, indoor garden full of lush plant life (it’s the perfect taste of spring!)

The event will feature live music, light refreshments, cooking demonstrations and a seed swap (bring your seeds). Check out the line up of exciting educational workshops:

* Planning and Canning

* Organic Pest Control

* Maple Sugaring

* Seed Starting

* Water Barrels/ Harvesting

* Growing Year Round

* Seed Saving and Seed Swap

Families are welcome; young “gardeners in training” can enjoy a kid’s corner with games and art projects.  SCLT will also hold a silent auction offering people the chance to bid on some great items, like garden design consultations with expert growers, a massage, a catered dinner party for 6, and other fun prizes.
Admission is $5 at the door (free for children and members of the Providence Community Growers Network). All proceeds will benefit Southside Community Land Trust’s Community Growers Network, which supports over 700 families with resources, education, and community-building they need to grow an abundance of healthy food!

Wednesday’s Urban Beekeeping workshop went swimmingly! We had a full room of folks ranging from beginner beekeepers to those just wanted to learn more about the subject. Kelly Smith, Davis Park garden leader and beekeeper of 5 hives, went over a comprehensive list of the basics: from its benefits and importance of bees, to necessary equipment and things to look out for. She explained that with the right amount of commitment and compassion, keeping them at home and in the city is very doable

This workshop was just a primer. To learn more information about beekeeping and to meet other beekeepers, visit the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association (RIBA). They offer a 5-week course (1 class per week for 5 weeks) in beginners beekeeping as well as bee package orders.

Cool fact we learned: bees fly an average of 45,000 miles in order to collect enough pollen to make a pound of honey. Next time you buy a jar of honey, you can appreciate all the hard work that went into making it!

Our next workshop is Wednesday, February 1st on Seed Starting 5:30-6:30pm at Hope Artiste Village (1005 Main Street Pawtucket, 02860). Register for this free workshop here.

Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of Rhode Island and Southside Community Land Trust invites farmers and growers to its Advanced Grower Workshop series on Sunday, February 5th at Smith-Buonanno Hall (Room 106) at Brown University. Eliot Coleman, owner of Four Seasons Farm in, long-time organic advocate, and author of The New Organic Grower, will be teaching a workshop on high tunnel production.

• 12:00 – 4:00 PM:  Advanced Growers Workshop on High Tunnel Production. Taught by Eliot Coleman, the workshop will teach RI Farmers to maximize high tunnel vegetable production throughout the year.

• 4:30 – 6:00:  NOFA/RI Annual Meeting & Potluck (Bring a dish and your own utensils).

• 6:00 PM:  Keynote talk by Eliot Coleman and discussion “Organic Farming: The Next Steps.” This is open to the public and costs $10.

The cost for the workshop and keynote is $35. The keynote is open to the public and costs $10 (or free for NOFA members). For info, contact NOFA/RI at nofari@live.com, 401-835-2346, or 401-523-2653.

Coleman is known for producing year-long farming on his farm in Maine. Under harsh winter conditions, he uses unheated and minimally heated greenhouse structures to grow vegetables year-round. He is an advocate of small-scale organic farming and fostering strong relationships with customers.

This workshop and keynote event is brought to you by NOFA RI, the University of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Brown University, and Southside Community Land Trust. NOFA RI is an organization of farmers, consumers, gardeners, and environmentalists working to promote organic farming and organic land care practices. NOFA RI aims to foster a healthy relationship to the natural world through advocacy and education. Their goal is to increase the acreage of certified organic land in RI while also increasing the access of local organic food to all Rhode Islanders. NOFA RI is affiliated with the other NOFA chapters through the NOFA Interstate Council.

Following up last week’s exciting news about Southside Community Land Trust’s upcoming Executive Director Transition, we are pleased to announce the full job description and instructions for application can be found here on our website. A competitive nationwide search is underway for an Executive Director for the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI. Date of employment is expected to be July 15, 2012 with full assumption of duties on August 1, 2012.

Deadline for application is February 24, 2012 at midnight.

A special announcement from Southside Community Land Trust’s Executive Director Katherine Brown:

Today is the day I get to share with you and other very special supporters exciting news of a long-anticipated opportunity—for me and for Southside Community Land Trust. August 1st will be my last day as SCLT’s Executive Director, and on that day another very fortunate person will become your new partner in realizing our shared vision: Grow food everywhere!

This news may not come as a surprise to you. Over the past nine years I’ve been open about my plan to stay only long enough to strengthen SCLT’s 30-year foundation in Providence’s Southside neighborhood so that we might provide equal support for more people who also wanted to grow food throughout Greater Providence. And we’ve reached this goal! Our work has directly supported the ability of thousands of people to grow their own food, and we are well-positioned to enable many more in the future.

I have full confidence that SCLT is ready for this intentional leadership transition. Our past two years’ preparations for the new director have been exciting and
transformational. SCLT’s Board and Staff members serving on the Transition Team have crafted a series of clear steps to guide our transition process. And last year we approved a 3-year strategic plan to scale up and meet the ever-increasing demand from the community for more land, training and technical assistance, facilitation of new and existing gardens and farms, and coordination of policy initiatives that support urban agriculture. We have been steadfast in achieving our program objectives and have strengthened our financial and operational capacity to meet this growth. Please visit our website for more details about our strategic plan.

Next week we will officially post the Executive Director position. I hope you will spread the job posting widely.

It has been a great privilege to work with you, and to be inspired by the contributions of the brilliant, creative, funny, hardworking, and inspiring crew of visionaries on SCLT’s staff and Board. My heartfelt gratitude for everyone’s many gifts to me and for the ongoing support of our work with the community is boundless. I know you will continue to share your trust in, and your many gifts with everyone at SCLT– including our lucky new Executive Director.

With love, and heaps of xoxo!
–Katherine Brown

Have your voice be heard about Rhode Island’s Food System. There are 3 events coming up to learn and discuss the exciting things taking shape for the RI Food Policy Council, compost in RI and the Farm Bill. :

1) The first open meeting of the newly formed Rhode Island Food Policy Council – shaping Working Groups for 2012!

WHEN: Monday, January 30th, 2012, 4 pm – 6 pm.

WHERE: RI Department of Environmental Management, Foundry Building, Room 300. The Foundry building is located at 235 Promenade Street, near the Providence Place Mall.  Enter through the rear door off of Holden Street, and take elevator/stairs to the 3rd floor.  Signs will be posted directing you to Room 300.  Limited visitor parking is available on Promenade Street, or parking at the mall is $1 for up to three hours.

WHO: Anyone interested in RI Food Policy Council Working Groups or learning more about the RI Food Policy Council!

Coffee/tea and light snacks will be provided.  For more information about the RIFPC’s work, or to download a copy of the Rhode Island Food Assessment, visit the Rhode Island Food Policy Council’s website: www.rifoodcouncil.org.

2) The 3rd RI Compost Conference and Trade Show is coming up on February 27, 9 am – 3 pm at Hope Artiste Village for those interested in food waste and resource recovery.  More info and registration at: http://www.environmentcouncilri.org/compost2012.html. (Registration is $25).

3) Farm Fresh RI is also hosting its annual Local Food Forum on February 7, 8:30 am – 2:30 pm at Andrews Dining Hall on the Brown University campus.  This year’s theme is Food Fight: How the 2012 Farm Bill Will Affect Rhode Island.  More info and registration at: http://www.farmfreshri.org/about/localfoodforum.php. (Registration is free).

Please feel free to forward this to those interested.  If you or someone you know would like to be added to the RIFPC email list, please email Leo at leo@southsideclt.org.  We look forward to seeing you on the 30th!

It might be cold outside (well, not THAT cold, it’s actually pretty nice for January!), but it is the perfect time to start planning for the growing season! Southside Community Land Trust and Farm Fresh RI invites the public to attend two free workshops on urban beekeeping (a primer that focuses on what it takes to raise bees food in the city) and seed starting. These workshops will be held at the Wintertime Farmers Market greenhouse space on Wednesday January 25th 6-7pm and Wednesday February 1st 5:30-6:30pm, respectively.

Want to learn what it takes to raise bees in the city? Learn more about it at the urban beekeeping primer workshop, which will be taught by Kelly Smith, Davis Park Community Garden coordinator. Kelly owns 5 beehives and has taken bee school classes and a week-long intensive advanced course by the Eastern Apicultural Society. Kelly will give a basic overview about what it means to keep bees in the city, going over topics such as materials required for urban beekeeping, resources and available education options for bee school.

Seed starting will be taught by Sidewalk Ends Farm’s Laura Brown-Lavoie, Tess Brown-Lavoie and Fay Strongin. This workshop will help people get a head start on preparing their favorite vegetables and herbs as well as accommodate for those who have limited growing space in their homes or apartments. The lesson will also provide information on growing sprouts and building your own indoor grow box to start seeds inside. Southside Community Land Trust will be offering free seed packets (lettuce, summer squash, etc.) at this workshop.

Register by emailing SCLT at amber@southsideclt.org or online at www.plantprovidence.org.

These workshops are an extension of the Plant Providence educational workshop series. First introduced in 2010, the Plant Providence calendar is a full-color poster printed annually that lists programs and events taking place throughout the year related to urban agriculture. In addition to the upcoming workshops on urban beekeeping and seed starting, the 2012 Plant Providence calendar will debut at Southside Community Land Trust’s Urban Agriculture Kick-off on March 3rd at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center from 1-4pm.

The Plant Providence calendar is a project of Southside Community Land Trust and is sponsored by the Albin Family Foundation, the Urban Agriculture Task Force of Providence, Brown University’s Center for Environmental Studies, Casa Buena Builders Inc., the John T. Howard Agency Farm Family Insurance, The University of Rhode Island Outreach Center, What Grows On in Rhode Island, and Whole Foods Market.

More information about Southside Community Land Trust is available at www.southsideclt.org

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a restful, joyful, and fantastic holiday! Here at Southside Community Land Trust, we’ve already jumped into the new year in full gear. We have BIG plans for 2012. SCLT is excitedly planning for a bright new year of events, workshops, celebrations and more! We’re looking forward to…

• Building more community gardens and spaces to grow food

• The 2012 Plant Providence Calendar

• SCLT’s Annual Plant Sale

• Providence Community Growers Network going into full swing

• Growing even more food all over the city

… and so much more!

Stay tuned for updates on all of these AND for a couple workshops we’ll be having at the Pawtucket Wintertime Market on Wednesday January 25th and Wednesday February 1st. Cheers!

Our 30th Picnic Party this past summer was a hit thanks to our planning committee!

Thanksgiving may be over, but our gratefulness is anything but! SCLT wants to give a proper acknowledgement to our 30th committees, which have planned and facilitated so many of the fabulous events that SCLT hosted this past 30th anniversary year. These events would not have been the same without the wonderful folks on these committees! So here is the cast of credits of each individual who has contributed his or her invaluable time to SCLT, making this a year something to cheer about.

30th Committee : Co-Chairs:
Vera Wayne
Debbie Schimberg Committee Members: Erin Boyle Carol Fay Tim Kearns Sarah Kern
Jessica Knapp

Erika Lamb
Louis Raymond
Sarah Zurier
Susan Sakash
Rick Schwartz, consultant
Dana Gee, graphic designer

Carrot City/Public Events Committee:

Paul Connelly Richard Gutman Skye Hibbard-Swanson Jessica Knapp Deborah Schimberg Pamela Steager Sarah Zurier

 

The Harvest Party Planning Committee:
Louis Raymond, Chair
Jill Brody
Johnnie Chace
Karen Champagne
Judy Croyle
Sarah Kern
Patrick Mattingly
Patucci Shehan
Frances Trafton
Karen Usas 30th Honorary Committee:
Governor Lincoln and Stephanie Chafee
U.S. Senator Jack Reed
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Congressman Jim Langevin
Congressman David Cicilline
Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts Peggy and Henry Sharpe
Mayor Angel Taveras,  City of Providence
Mayor Allan Fung, City of Cranston
RI Senator Harold Metts
RI Senator Juan Pichardo
Gertrude Blakey Jones, Lifespan
Andy Fisher, Community Food Security Coalition
Ned and Polly Handy
Michael Pollan
John Schenck, Edible Rhody
Jyothi and Shivan Subramaniam
Mary and Rick Worrell
Barbara Van Beuren
James Vincent, NAACP

Pictured: Naomi (far right) with a couple community volunteers at the Potters Ave. Garden Build-out

People want to grow food, but need spaces for it. In 2011, SCLT gardeners, volunteers and staff helped build seven new community gardens in Providence.  But these gardens are still not enough – many more people are still waiting for a plot. One such person was Naomi Timbo, a local church pastor and mother of four.

“I had been hearing about the gardens ever since moving to Providence from Liberia in 1996,” she says, “but it wasn’t until this spring when I visited my friend Sarah’s crops that I knew – deep down inside – that I wanted to grow food too.”

Naomi and her four kids (ages 13, 11, 10 and 8) love fresh food and go to the Armory Park Market every week in the summer. They eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, but she wants them to learn to grow food on their own as well. “{By growing food], they will grow healthy and live longer. I want to extend that to my church [Crossroads Covenant Church on Cranston Street]. I have been praying that our church can get plots in the new gardens – we have not backyard or space to grow. “

Through her patience while waiting for a garden space for her family, Naomi has been involved with SCLT in many ways. “I have stayed involved because, even though I don’t have a garden plot, [SCLT] staff have given me other ways to stay involved and give back.” She and two family members helped out with the Potters Ave. Garden build-out, where they were able to get to know their neighbors and the SCLT team.

Naomi and a relative jumping right into building new garden bed frames at Potters Ave.

SCLT supports people like Naomi with opportunities to get involved with the Community Growers Network, volunteering at community gardens, and through Plant Providence workshops, where she her kids can learn to grow food in the city (whether it’s their backyard, front yard or even the porch).

But the need is still there.

“[SCLT Community Gardens Director] Liza told me at the last workday that even state and city leaders are starting to realize we need more garden beds so more people can start growing food for their families and themselves,” Naomi recalls, “this gives me a lot of hope because, as I’ve seen from my church, there are a lot of people who don’t have jobs but do have time and a desire to be part of something.”

In this season of giving, donor contributions allow SCLT to reach more and more neighborhoods of Providence and offer the priceless gift of healthy food and a stronger community. SCLT recognizes the powerful impact of bringing people together having spaces for growing food. We imagine neighbors of every ethnicity, income and class will be able to grow safe, dependable, affordable food within walking distance of their homes.

Your end-of-year gift means we can get started right away with planning our 2012 community garden build-outs, educational workshop series, and Plant Sale seedling orders. With your support, SCLT is able to the needs of ALL kinds of growers, including Naomi!

Give today.

It’s been an exciting and productive year at City Farm!  Thousands of pounds of food were harvested (about 2 tons to be exact!) and delivered to local restaurants, sold at farmers markets and donated to food banks. Hundreds of kids made their way to the farm to learn about growing food from seed to fruit, good bugs, compost and more. From cultivating hundreds of veggie starters and perennials flowers for the plant sale to hosting and teaching workshops on composting and chickens – it was indeed a busy year for the City Farm team!

Dead leaves are the perfect mulch material that will keep the soil from losing moisture over the winter.

Now that the sunny, summer abundance has faded into the slower-paced and brisk fall days, it’s that time of year that City Farm Steward Rich Pederson puts the farm to bed for a winter hiatus. Equipped with a hefty delivery of fallen leaves and harvested seaweed from the shores of Rhode Island, Rich applies the mixture onto the garden beds to keep the soil in tip-top shape over the winter. The process of mulching provides a protective cover for the soil in order to retain moisture, reduce erosion, provide nutrients, and suppress weed growth and seed germination. The minerals from the seaweed will ensure a beautiful harvest for the next growing season.

Sean O'Brien, Than Wood, and Rich Pederson with a wheelbarrow full of harvested seaweed that will be used to amend the soil back at City Farm

You can prepare your own garden beds for the winter too. Check out our Urban Agriculture Resource Center for information about over-wintering and planting cover-cropsfor soil health.

The SCLT Organic Gardening Kit will be available at a couple events in December:

• Craftland Buy Art Reception on Thursday, December 8th from 5-8pm. Craftland is located on 235 Westminster Street in downtown Providence and features hundreds of handmade goods by independent artists—from one-of-a-kind craft items to fine art pieces.

• Holidays in the Park at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center on Saturday, December 10th from 11am-2pm. Holidays in the Park is an annual event that features various activities, vendors, crafts lessons, local crafts and gifts for sale, live music and free food.

Proceeds from the Organic Gardening Kit supports SCLT’s Community Growers Network, which aims to provide access to gardening resources, education, and community building for its members, helping gardeners in Providence grow more food!

The kits can also be found at wholesale price at $15(plus shipping) at the recently debuted SCLT online store. Customers can also arrange a pick-up when ordering from the store to avoid a shipping cost. The online store features other products to inspire the food grower in everyone, including City Farm T-shirts and Plant Sale gift certificates. Check back in the next couple of weeks and the New Year for even more great gift ideas that will go towards supporting SCLT’s programs in education, City Farm and the Community Growers Network. These are gifts made with local and/or sustainable designs, materials and goals in mind!

Folks gathered around at a workshop to learn how compost can remediate unhealthy soil

Although the Plant Providence Calendar is being tucked away until spring of 2012, the work around it hasn’t quite gone into hibernation mode. Word on the street is that next year’s calendar will hold even more workshops, both old favorites and fresh, new topics! The Plant Providence Calendar is truly a community effort that wouldn’t be possible without the invaluable knowledge and effort of our workshop instructors (most of which are our dear friends, acquaintances and colleagues!). Here’s our Plant Providence workshop instructor hall of fame:

Urban Chickens I and II taught by staff and chicken-raising expert Kate Lacouture; Safe Soil: remediating Lead taught by City Farm’s Rich Pederson and Liz Colon; Beginning Organic Growers Series (BOGS) taught by staff and our friends Raffini (a community garden grower), Jenn Steinfeld and Adam Graffunder (Florence and Manton Farm); BOGS taught in Spanish by Jairo Rosales; Rain Barrels 101 taught by President of African Alliance Julius Kolawole; Taming Your Tomatoes taught by Thom Mitchell and James Crowley; Winter Greens and Low Tunnels and Seed Saving taught by Scratch Farm’s Katie Miller; Medicinal Herbs and Foraging by Farmacy Herb’s Mary Blue; Composting 101 by Sejal Lanterman and many more!

These folks sure know what they’re doing and we’re looking forward to partnering with them again in the years to come! We also want to give a big thanks to our sponsors the Albin Family Foundation, Brown University Center for Environmental Studies, URI Outreach Center, Casa Buena Builders, Inc. and What Grows on RI? Check back for Plant Providence updates in the near future.

SCLT organic gardening kit, available on our online store!

The moment we all wake up the morning after Thursday’s Thanksgiving festivities will mark the start of the holiday shopping season. Stores and radio stations will switch on the holiday music playlist and cities will be decorated with lights, wreaths and ornaments. Even if you won’t be one of the dedicated and determined few who are gearing to get up before the sun does on Friday morning, you might still be getting ready to make those shopping lists and checking them twice.

How about instead of a black Friday, we have a green one? Southside Community Land Trust is proud to be making a grand opening of our online merchandise store just for the occasion! Our store will feature products that inspire the food grower in everyone. We are thrilled about our organic gardening kit, which includes seeds, cover crop, garden markers, organic fertilizer and bug spray. This kit will make the perfect gift for someone in your life who wants to start growing their own fresh and healthy food.

On our merchandise site will also be City Farm T-shirts and Plant Sale gift certificates. Check back in the next couple of weeks for some other great gift ideas that will go towards supporting SCLT’s programs in education, City Farm and the Community Growers Network. These are gifts that are made with local and/or sustainable designs, materials and goals in mind!

Southside Community Land Trust is delighted to be featured as one of Blue State Coffee’s Providence causes over the past two years. In their philanthropy program, customers nominate the non-profit organizations Blue State will support and vote on how the donations are allocated in their store.

“Blue State Coffee is proud to have been able to support the important work that SCLT does over the last several years,” says Alex Payson of Blue State Coffee, “Our philanthropic giving is directed by customer suggestions and SCLT continues to be an important organization for our customer base here in Providence.  We believe that socially responsible businesses give back to the community that supports them, and thanks to our customers we have donated over $250,000 since we opened our first store in 2007.”

SCLT gives a big shout-out and thanks to the Thayer Street Blue State and its customers for their socially conscious and creative way of giving back to the local community and for raising us a contribution of $4,500. Awesome!

It’s amazing how much can happen in an year. This November was the last of the 30th Anniversary events for SCLT and we couldn’t be more delighted for all the great moments, friendships and celebration we’ve had. We’ve put together some images that capture just some of the plentiful good times of our 30th anniversary year. It’s time to look back, smile and look forward to another vibrant 30 years. Cheers!

February: Urban Agriculture Spring Kickoff. Throughout the afternoon, community musicians entertained the crowd with unusual instruments.

A peek at some of the Plant Sale tomatoes biding their time in the City Farm greenhouse.

Students of the Met School helped construct our SCLT side-yard garden, so SCLT staffers can grow their own food right outside our office!

May: People claiming their favorites at City Farm's annual Plant Sale

Little City Growers Co-op: The faces of young urban farmers in Providence pictured selling produce at the Armory Park Farmers Market

Our Birthday Picnic in July had farm fun and activities for the whole family.

Greenwich Street gardeners resting after finishing the garden build-out

City Fest celebrates the end of summer Children Garden Program and usually involves some sort of watermelon-eating contest!

SCLT Executive Director Katherine Brown and Harvest Party guests share a good time together with a Big Nazo puppet.

The Community Garden Tour and Potluck showcased the diversity of community gardens in Providence and ended in a delicious meal

SCLT was part of leading the way in the planning process of Food Day the Rhode Island Food Policy Council

We built and filled 29 new raised garden beds at Potters Ave.

We did it! With much perseverance and the help of our invaluable volunteers, the Potters Ave. Community Garden expansion was completed yesterday. It all started from a tree by the old garden that was damaged from a storm in June to have us ask the question, “Why not?” when the idea presented itself to turn the undeveloped area into a space to grow more food. “Community folks, neighbors and even students participated in the building of this garden. At the end of the last day, nobody wanted to leave because it was such a lovely experience and we grew so close as a team. We’re all excited for the possibilities of what this will bring to families in the spring,” said Liza Sutton, SCLT Community Growers Network Director. 29 new raised garden beds were built from this garden expansion effort, giving even more area families the opportunity to grow fresh, healthy food.

Click to view slideshow.

SCLT wants to give a big thank you to Mel and Connie Carter for being generous hosts in letting us transform the space. For more great stories about the effort being made to provide families access to growing their own food, read about the Greenwich Street Garden that was built this summer.

Last night’s Deep Roots panel discussion was full of fascinating history about urban agriculture in Providence. We learned that at one point circa World War II, the city was pooling in an enormous amount of effort to make growing food a part of daily life. Victory gardens were established all over the city in order to reduce pressure on the food supply from the war effort. In the slideshow, you’ll see that there once was a garden right in front of the State House. At this time where growing food was stressed by state departments, 40% of the nation’s food supply was grown by civilians in gardens. What an amazing piece of history – imagine the possibilities for our present and future!

Click to view slideshow.

Click here to watch a video of the 30 years of history behind SCLT. Thanks to all who came by and made it a wonderful last 30th anniversary event. Things are wrapping up for the year here at SCLT, but stay tuned for ways to get involved and how to support us. Let’s keep growing deeper!

Folks gathered for the community discussion on Food Day

October 24th was a big day for local food across the nation, but especially in Rhode Island. Parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes gathered to access, discuss, and push for a healthier, more affordable and sustainable way of producing and eating food in the state. The day’s activities were part of a national event called National Food Day and was highlighted by the launch of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council (RIFPC).

What is the RI Food Policy Council? Leo Pollock, SCLT’s Program Director, breaks it down for you: “The mission of the council is to strengthen local agriculture and fisheries and fin ways to connect that home-grown food to low income communities across Rhode Island.”

The launch of the Food Policy Council has been two years in the making, after SCLT, in conversation with its community partners, recognized that though there was a lot of on-the-ground work around supporting local food, Rhode Island lacked any high-level coordination for the food system as a whole. With early funding from the Van Bueren Foundation and the Rhode Island Foundation, SCLT took the lead in convening a varied group of local and state agencies to embark on a year-long planning process. National Food Day was the official launch date of the newly formed council, involving partners like GrowSmart RO, the Environmental Justice League, the URI Center for Hunger, Brown University, DEM Division of Agriculture and the RI Community Food Bank.

What does the Food Council means for you?

As a Rhode Islander or someone who enjoys eating food that is grown in Rhode Island, the Food Policy Council will act as a policy-changing force to ensure that:
- Food and local agriculture are recognized as important parts of the state’s economy;
- New funding is being brought into the state to strengthen all parts of the food system, from plant to plate;
- Policy changes are being implemented at the State level to make local food more affordable and available to people of all income levels in our state.

October 24th was just the launch. Visit www.rifoodcouncil.org for more information and stay tuned for updates from the Community Land Trust as we continue to work on behalf of the growers, eaters and lovers of all things local.

Check out EcoRI’s coverage of Food Day.