Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

A new warehouse holds the key to linking farms with institutions responsible for feeding thousands of Rhode Islanders every day. We need your help to make it a reality.

Yes! I’d like to contribute now.

Only 1% of what we eat comes from RI farms.
The other 99%? We see it as a huge opportunity for strengthening our family farms and addressing community health issues like childhood obesity and diabetes.

We have the farms. We have the food. We have the trucks, drivers and delivery routes. We have the people on the inside at places like schools, hospitals, grocers and restaurants championing fresher, healthier food.

What are we waiting for? Farm Fresh RI needs an upgraded warehouse - the critical infrastructure - to handle the large quantities of produce needed by schools, hospitals and other big food buyers.

But with the unexpected loss of grant funding, we’re in a tough situation. There’s simply no way we can continue to meet the new demand from school and hospital customers without the right warehouse equipment.

We’re hoping to raise $10,000 from the community in the next 30 days as part of the necessary $75,000 investment we’re making this summer in our warehouse space in Pawtucket (by our Wintertime Market site). It will help us grow from last year’s $225,000 in local farm sales to a yearly $2.5 million in 2013. That’s a lot of local food, local jobs and a lot of healthy school lunches.

Please donate today. A contribution of any amount will help. We have some donors lined up, but that won’t yet cover it. A new walk-in cooler, freezer and cold packing room are simple, but they will yield an abundant harvest on dinner tables across Rhode Island for many years to come.

If you care about changing the way we eat… If you want a future where local farms, fresher flavors and healthier communities are the default, not just the 1%… Your donation can make it a reality!

Summer doesn’t officially start for another few days, but you wouldn’t know it based on the tables overflowing with peas and strawberries at farmers markets across Rhode Island. 31of the 45 markets are already open for the season, and what a harvest for early June! There hasn’t been any “downtime” between the winter and summer this year, with temps reaching 80 degrees in April. Though it’s left farmers without any chance of catching up on sleep, it’s a wonderful treat for everyone who eats.

Last week, we saw beets and asparagus at the Armory Market, broccoli and garlic scapes at the Downtown Providence Market, and cherries and basil at the Hope Street Market. We’ve even heard that the very first raspberries are already ready to harvest.

If you’re looking for an excuse to get out to a RI farm, now is the moment to do it. There’s nothing quite like a local strawberry, fresh from the fields. You can pick your own strawberries at a dozen nearby farms, and three farms let you pick sugar snap peas too.

Enjoy the sweet taste, and cheers to a local, delicious summer!