Regional Food Systems
Our food systems reflect some of the 21st century’s most pressing challenges, but also offer significant opportunities to address them.
America’s industrialized and massive-scale agricultural system contributes to climate change, water scarcity and pollution, food-borne illness, antibiotic resistance, loss of wildlife and habitat, obesity and other disease and food insecurity.
Creating new, regional and sustainable food systems can help address many of these cross-cutting concerns while ensuring the most vulnerable among us – children, the poor and people in hospitals – are getting the healthy food they need to thrive. We’re supporting such a regional food system in New England by:
- Channeling demand from our region’s largest food purchasers such as schools, colleges and universities, and hospitals to increase the economic success of sustainable agriculture;
- Focusing on supply chains to expand and streamline the supply and demand of regionally and sustainably produced food; and
- Strengthening food production and distribution systems so they can meet the growing demand.
Grantee Profile
Migrant Justice
“Milk with Dignity will bring about a new day for dairy workers. We will transform this industry and win our human rights.” – Enrique Balcazar, Migrant Justice Farm Worker Member*
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Impact Investing
Ayers Brook Goat Dairy
In 2012, The John Merck Fund joined philanthropic partners, The Castanea Foundation and the High Meadows Fund, to form Evergreen Partners, L3C, committing $300,000 to the partnership to help finance Vermont Creamery’s ...
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Impact Investing
Fair Food Fund
In 2012, The John Merck Fund Board made a $425,000 investment in the Fair Food Network’s Fair Food Fund-Northeast. The Fund was established to help fill the financing gap that many smaller-scale sustainable farmers ...
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Recent Regional Food Systems Grant Awards
| Date | Description | Program Area | Focus | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/2018 |
The Carrot ProjectTo successfully transition from planning to implementation of The Blueprint, by building a business assistance network for farms and food businesses. |
Regional Food Systems |
$40,000 | |
| 03/2018 |
Maine Farmland TrustTo help more farmers scale up for the wholesale market, which is essential to growing local and regional markets and the farming sector in Maine. |
Regional Food Systems |
$50,000 | |
| 03/2018 |
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners AssociationTo ensure that Maine farmers and food producers are able to ramp up production, particularly in Aroostook County, as demand increases for healthy, sustainable, and organic food throughout the region. |
Regional Food Systems |
$50,000 | |
| 03/2018 |
Vermont Sustainable Jobs FundTo enable greater coordination and collaboration among organizations across Vermont to achieve the 25 goals of Vermont’s Farm to Plate Strategic Plan by 2020. |
Regional Food Systems |
$100,000 | |
| 03/2018 |
Massachusetts Food System CollaborativeTo work toward a more equitable and sustainable food system for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by promoting, monitoring, and facilitating implementation of the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan. |
Regional Food Systems |
$50,000 | |
| 03/2018 |
University of New Hampshire FoundationTo support Food Solutions New England’s work to implement key projects related to three core strategies, build network leadership, and further racial equity in the region. |
Regional Food Systems |
$125,000 | |
| 12/2017 |
CommonWealth KitchenTo develop year-round custom product manufacturing services for the institutional market as a means for establishing an economically-viable supply chain for farmers in New England. |
Regional Food Systems |
$75,000 | |
| 12/2017 |
Massachusetts Farm to SchoolTo educate critical farm to school decisionmakers about the need for stronger policies and programs to increase local foods procurement by Massachusetts schools. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 12/2017 |
Land for GoodTo work with American Farmland Trust and Conservation Law Foundation to engage and educate policymakers and support stakeholder efforts to advance public policy actions around farmland access and farm transfer in New England. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 12/2017 |
Land for GoodTo provide technical assistance and educational resources to farmers and farmland owners in order to improve farmland access, transfer, and tenure for beginning and established farmers in New England. |
Regional Food Systems |
$30,000 |