Rhode Island Food Policy Council

Regional representatives from food system-change organizations, state agencies and funders gathered on May 11 in Providence to discuss sharing, enhancing or further developing existing data sets and indicators to help all the groups move forward in the creation of a regional food system based data set. 

In partnership with the RI Agricultural Partnership and American Farmland Trust, the afternoon event incorporated overviews of current regional data collection including the Economic Impact Study of Plant-Based Industries and Agriculture in RI, RI State Food Procurement Data, Farm Fresh RI data, USDA-NASS data, RI DOH's Environmental Indicator and Resident Survey data and American Farmland Trust and Farm to Institution New England survey data. 

Ellen Kahler from the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund presented a broad picture of the VT Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, including a sneak peek at the about-to-be-released communications vehicle - the VT Food System Atlas.  The RIFPC Data and Evaluation Committee will be working on further data gathering and collection - please stay tuned for more info & contact Gemma Gorham, RIFPC Data & Evaluation Committee Chair to get involved.
 

Wasted Food – Innovative Lifecycle Approaches for Reducing Food Waste
May 9th,  2:00-3:30 PM EST
Register Now! (https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/312261833)
 
Food – it’s too good to waste!  Hear from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about wasted food and the results of exciting EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Innovations (http://www.epa.gov/oswer/iwg/) projects focusing on lifecycle food management approaches.
 
Webinar Summary
In this session, you will learn about the innovative projects supporting the Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) and the Sustainable Materials Management Program. You will hear about:
New food waste source reduction tools;
Community engagement to reduce wasted food;
Repurposing underused or vacant structures for sustainable food sources; and
Successes and experiences of innovative lifecycle food projects.
 
Moderator
 
Jeffrey Kohn, Innovations Coordinator; EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Jeff runs the OSWER Innovations Program in OSWER, which uses funding to support promising new policies, approaches, and/or technologies with the hope of turning promising ideas into practical realities.  Jeff’s chairs the OSWER Innovations Work Group (IWG). Comprised of EPA innovators from all 10 EPA regional offices and most of the headquarters offices, the IWG includes the program’s strongest advocates. Since 2002, the IWG has held a competition for innovative ideas, funding anywhere from four to 12 projects each year.  Over 10 years, the IWG has sponsored more than 100 projects.
 
More Info & To REGISTER:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/312261833

Thanks to those of you who were able to attend the launch of our open meeting Community Conversation series in April. 

Here is the pdf for the printed piece that gives the overview for the series.  Share far and wide!

Details for the June date and location coming soon -

TOPIC:  RI Institutions Purchasing RI Local Foods, hosted by Council Member John Weaver

Thursday, April 4
Food Access & Health Impacts: Trends and New Research
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific / 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern
 
More Info & register

RIFPC Environment Working Group a part of the effort here and RIFPC Policy Committee Chair Sheila Brush quoted:
ARTICLE
 

On Wednesday March 6, from 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm (EST), webinar presenters from the three sponsoring partner organizations (PolicyLink, The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund)  will discuss the problem of healthy food access and the innovative solutions being developed to address the issue.

Designed as an introduction to the field of healthy food access, the webinar will also feature a discussion on how to make the case for healthy food retail solutions in local communities.

Register here

Visit the new Healthy Food Access Portal - launched by the 3 sponsoring organizations

USDA Proposes Standards to Provide Healthy Food Options in Schools - new "Smart Snacks in School" proposal to ensure vending machines, snack bars include healthy choices.  Please note that these proposed standards are in the public comment period and reflect minimum stanards - our own RI state regs have been in effect for several years and most likely take the criteria even further on the scale towards healthy.  More info at:
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2013/02/0019.xml&navid=NEWS_RELEASE&navtype=RT&parentnav=LATEST_RELEASES&edeployment_action=retrievecontent

Food Preservation Basics Workshop
Thursdays, March 7th and 14th, 2013
5:30-8:30 pm
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences Foods Lab
Ranger Hall room #107
URI Kingston campus 
Nicole Richard, Cooperative Extension Food Safety Specialist with the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, and Sejal Lanterman, Cooperative Extension Educator, at the University of Rhode Island, will present a two session “hands-on” food preservation workshop.
The first session will include an overview of safe canning methods and a hands-on activity using hot water bath canning. The second session will include a review of freezing and drying techniques for high quality and safety along with a hands-on activity demonstrating the pressure canner. Directions and building location can be found at www.uri.edu/home/visitors/Map/.
Contact Nicole Richard at nicolerichard@uri.edu or 401-874-2977 for more information or questions.
Registration Form attached