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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/2019 |
New Hampshire Community Loan FundTo work toward sustainability and systems change for New Hampshire farmers and food producers through financial literacy training, expanding market channels, and connecting farms with agricultural financiers. |
Regional Food Systems |
$30,000 | |
| 06/2019 |
Food ConnectsTo better support New England food producers by increasing inter-food hub transactions and sales by $150,000 and envisioning the future of the New England Food Hub Network. |
Regional Food Systems |
$60,000 | |
| 06/2019 |
Rhode Island Food Policy CouncilTo grow new local food supply chains for institutions in Rhode Island and track and communicate about progress toward key metrics outlined in the Rhode Island Food Strategy. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 06/2019 |
University of New Hampshire FoundationTo implement key projects related to Food Solutions New England’s three core strategies, build network leadership, and further racial equity in New England’s food system. |
Regional Food Systems |
$100,000 | |
| 06/2019 |
Farm to Institution New EnglandTo develop effective tools, resources, and policy recommendations to open institutional markets to regional farmers and food producers, particularly within higher education. |
Regional Food Systems |
$210,000 | |
| 06/2019 |
National Sustainable Agriculture CoalitionTo successfully implement and utilize 2018 Farm Bill policy wins in the field, and to create an empowered cohort of Northeast sustainable farm and food stakeholders able to influence upcoming policy debates. |
Regional Food Systems |
$25,000 | |
| 04/2019 |
Sand County FoundationTo support the Leopold Conservation Award New England, which will recognize farmers, ranchers, and foresters for achievements in natural resources conservation on productive agricultural land in New England. |
Regional Food Systems |
$15,000 | |
| 03/2019 |
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 |
$30,000 | |
| 03/2019 |
Maine Farmland TrustTo help more farmers scale up for the wholesale market, thereby helping to expand local and regional markets and the farming sector in Maine. |
Regional Food Systems |
$40,000 | |
| 03/2019 |
The Carrot ProjectTo progress from initial visioning and planning to collaborative implementation of a new business model for The Blueprint. |
Regional Food Systems |
$40,000 |