New England Statewide Events

Come together with farm and food organizations from across New Hampshire for the NH Food Alliance’s Network Development Retreat— a two hour, interactive retreat, October 15 from 10AM-12PM. Connect with other participants virtually in small group settings to help answer strategic questions about the function of our network. We’ll use the time to learn about the work of each action team, identify potential areas of cross collaboration, and brainstorm the best ways to communicate and connect across the NH Food Alliance network. 

We have an ambitious vision for New Hampshire’s food system: how can we work together to achieve it? Register today to join the conversation.

Please join Aziz Dehkan, Executive Director for Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, and Kip Kolesinskas, Conservation Scientist, for a discussion about their experiences with climate change and how Connecticut Food System Alliance (CFSA) can integrate climate action into our food system planning.

Please join Winton Pitcoff, Director, MA Food System Collaborative, and Tanya Swain, Project Director, the Maine Food Strategy, as they present their states’ food plans and discuss the methods they used to craft each one. Your input is critical and will be used to draft the food action plan.

On November 2nd, Question 3 will be on the ballot statewide, giving Mainers the opportunity to vote on whether to enshrine a Right to Food in Maine’s Constitution.

MOFGA supports Question 3, and we invite you to join us for a conversation featuring leaders of the Yes on 3 Campaign to learn more about it. MOFGA Board member Senator Craig Hickman and Heather Retberg (Quill’s End Farm in Penobscot) will talk about how this amendment will empower all of us to address the badly broken food system and create a new one that is healthy and fair for all of us. 

Join CFSA and Curtis Ogden for a workshop on building a network in service of food system change.

Are networking events the bane of your professional existence? Do you understand the value but loathe the process of forging these professional relationships? There’s a better, more sustainable way! Please join Curtis Ogden, Senior Associate at the Institute for Social Change, for a workshop on building a network in service of food system change. Leave your notions of transactional and competitive networking behind as we learn how to build solidarity through collaboration. This session will be a presentation followed by some discussion and activity about building the network.

This fourth and final session in our annual summit will recap the previous three and give attendees an opportunity to reflect on what they learned. This will also be an opportunity to develop a set of actions that attendees can take away from the series and bring into their own advocacy. Connecticut Food System Alliance (CFSA) is hoping to use information from this summit to inform the creation of a food action plan.

SAVE THE DATE! REGISTRATION OPENS SOON!

November 18 & 19, 2021 | Virtual
Join us for this important Farm to Plate Network Gatheringas we kick off implementation of the new Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021-2030!

The 2021 Farm to Plate Gathering will be hosted virtually, as it was in 2020. The Gathering will be held on November 18th and 19th, 2021.

Since the Strategic Plan was released in February we have been redesigning the Farm to Plate Network to engage new members and more effectively work towards the Plan’s new vision and goals. At this Gathering we will explore the new Network structure, hear from a wide variety of presenters about the implementation efforts already taking place, and commit to collective action on the plan’s Priority Strategies.

As you advance new approaches to end hunger, how are you hearing from and engaging with the people you serve? Measuring more than pounds of food can involve developing new qualitative tools in your work. Learn about ways to gather feedback and stories through qualitative data collection and ideas for how to use and share the information. People who experience food insecurity are experts in their challenges with accessing food and can help us improve our services and inform us of the work we do. This webinar will highlight strategies and examples for gathering qualitative data.

Join CT Food System Alliance for our first winter gathering! What do you need and want out of a food system network? A network’s structure only works if it fits the needs of its members. Representatives from the new steering committee of the CT Farm to School Collaborative will briefly share their network structures to offer some inspiration. This session will provide a space to have open discussions about what YOU want in a network and how CFSA can support those needs

This May 2022, Massachusetts Farm to School will host our 6th statewide gathering, the MA Farm & Sea to School Conference. MFTS and planning partners will center the conference on youth leadership and empowerment. The event will also emphasize workshops that address racial, economic, and climate justice in farm to school programming. The workshops should provide all attendees with concrete skills or actionable takeaways and confidence to make a change in their (school) communities.