Planning next steps in implementing
Rhode Island Food Strategy
Speaker Nessa Richman, network director of the Rhode Island Food
Policy Council (at left), talks with attendees at the 2019 Rhode Island Food
System Summit at the University of Rhode Island. (URI photo/Nora Lewis)More than 400 government, academic, business and community partners who play a role in the state’s food system learned Friday, Jan. 18 that the United States could benefit a great deal from others around the world about how to deal with climate change and its impact on food production locally, nationally and globally.
The third annual Rhode Island Food System Summit, sponsored by
the Rhode Island Foundation, URI Business Engagement Center and the Rhode
Island Food Center at URI, was an opportunity for those involved in this
rapidly growing economic sector to drill down into the five pillars of the
Rhode Island Food Strategy, hear from experts, and work together to identify
next steps and ways to better support the state’s food economy.
Sue AnderBois, director of food strategy for the state, praised those involved, stating, “the strength of the Rhode Island food system is the people – the growers, makers, waste haulers, fishers, community workers, researchers, government, and so many more. The Food Summit is an amazing opportunity for us to join together and plant the seeds for what comes next.”
One of the keynote speakers, Danielle Nierenberg, president and
co-founder of the Washington, D.C. think tank Food Tank and host of the podcast
“Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” spoke about the need for more global thinking
and sharing of ideas.
“Farmers, scientists and policy makers in this country have so
much to learn from the rest of the world,” said Nierenberg. “Farmers in other
countries have been dealing with climate change for a long time now — they have
needed to adapt, to change their cropping systems, and figure out better ways
to use water.”
Nierenberg also discussed the role of private industry and the
need for more open communication between those involved in the sustainable
agriculture movement and the private sector to move sustainable agriculture
forward.
URI President David M. Dooley, who recently returned from a trip
to Indonesia, thanked partners and attendees, explaining why the annual Summit
is so important. He reiterated that the impact of environmental factors on food
security is a common concern and theme locally, nationally and globally.
“Climate change is real – with potentially severe consequences
for the population, including its impact on agricultural production both on
land and at sea,” Dooley said. “As we come together in Rhode Island and ask how
we can foster food security and ensure healthier, better food products end up
on the tables of our citizens regardless of their economic condition – we work
to answer questions that are central to the mission of our University and vital
to the future of Rhode Island.”
AnderBois shared an update on the state’s Food Strategy, while
Nessa Richman from the Rhode Island Food Policy Council provided perspectives
from that group. A mid-day panel discussion and breakout sessions covered the
strategy’s five pillars: production, spurring and empowering growth, building
and expanding markets, food insecurity and food waste – as well as ways the
University and others can play a role in implementing the strategy.
John Kirby, dean of the URI College of the Environment and Life
Sciences, underscored the importance of the food sector in Rhode Island in
terms of jobs and the economy in the near term and creating opportunity for the
future.
Kirby and Dooley spoke about the recently announced “innovation
campuses,” including the Agriculture Technology Park in West Kingston. The
project is a collaboration of Rhode Island Agricultural Technologies (a
partnership between the RI Mushroom Co. and American AgEnergy, Inc.) and
national companies, Verinomics and VoloAgri, to create an agricultural
innovation research center and state-of-the-art production facility.
Afternoon keynote speaker, Kathleen Merrigan, executive director
of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University
and former deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, discussed
the recently signed 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act (otherwise known as the
Farm Bill).
Characterized as largely “status quo,” she said the new federal
law includes the rolling back of changes regarding payment limitations and farm
payment eligibility. It cuts conservation funding as well as institutes new
work requirements for SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamp) beneficiaries. She
also noted that within the farm bill, programs such as nutrition incentive
programs, which were dependent on discretionary annual appropriations, are now
mandatory.
Merrigan urged, “For those of us who consider ourselves
advocates for sustainable agriculture our mission in the next couple of years
is to watch for alerts from organizations who help keep us informed on the
timing of implementation and to make sure we weigh in on the rules.”
Following the speaking program, attendees visited several sites
throughout the state to learn more about Rhode Island’s food ecosystem. Site
visits included: Matunuck Oyster Farm, Whalers Brewing Co., Farm Fresh RI, RI
Mushroom Company and Shaidzon Beer Co., the Port of Galilee, Farming Turtles,
Earth Care Farm and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
Michael Hallock, chief executive officer of RI Mushroom Co., has
attended the Summit each year and served as a panelist this year. He said, “The
Summit provides us with the opportunity to hear from more voices and for them
to be involved. The ability to put ideas into action and communicate directly
with our peers to help educate people and set trends in food is so valuable.
The Food Summit is a platform that elevates us all.”