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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/2021 |
National Family Farm CoalitionTo strengthen NFFC’s movement building and policy advocacy by influencing the planning, media coverage, and content of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit in New York City. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 06/2021 |
Food ConnectsTo increase inter-food hub transactions and sales, while also building more efficient systems and envisioning the future of New England food hub networks. |
Regional Food Systems |
$45,000 | |
| 06/2021 |
Farm Fresh Rhode IslandTo provide increased economic opportunities for New England farmers and food producers through connections with individuals, businesses, and institutions; and nurture a diverse team of young leaders who have the skills and resources to maximize the food hub infrastructure. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 06/2021 |
Rhode Island Food Policy CouncilTo make measurable progress in promoting an equitable, economically vibrant, and environmentally sustainable food system in Rhode Island. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 06/2021 |
University of New Hampshire FoundationTo expand and mobilize the Food Solutions New England network to meet the needs of this historic moment by changing the regional food system narrative and policy landscape. |
Regional Food Systems |
$75,000 | |
| 06/2021 |
Farm to Institution New EnglandTo enable Farm to Institution New England to serve as an information hub, connector, and catalyst for action as the region redesigns the food system. |
Regional Food Systems |
$170,000 | |
| 06/2021 |
National Sustainable Agriculture CoalitionTo create an empowered cohort of Northeast regional sustainable farm and food stakeholders and build a more sustainable, equitable food system in the Northeast. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 04/2021 |
Maine Farmland TrustTo help Maine farmers realize the significant economic opportunities offered by scaling up to reach wholesale markets. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 04/2021 |
The Carrot ProjectTo build the Agricultural Viability Alliance into a network for farm and food business technical assistance practitioners across our region that can address shared challenges, facilitate more uniform high-quality TA provision, and more effectively share and expand limited resources. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 04/2021 |
Vermont Sustainable Jobs FundTo support Vermont Farm to Plate, which will increase sustainable economic development and create jobs in Vermont’s food and farm sector; and improve access to healthy, local food for all Vermonters. |
Regional Food Systems |
$75,000 |