The RI Food Policy Council (RIFPC) is working to promote a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable food system in Rhode Island. They work to coordinate a statewide collaboration of diverse, committed and engaged stakeholders from all sectors of the food system. And they create partnerships, develop policies, and advocate for improvements to the local food system to increase and expand its capacity, viability, and sustainability.
Visit the RIFPC’s website for helpful resources, including:
- A live Bill Tracker for legislation pertaining to food policy, and where a bill stands in the process.
- Data and metrics on the five core Rhode Island Food System elements:
- Preserve and grow agriculture and fisheries
- Sustain and create markets for Rhode Island Food and Beverage products
- Enhance the climate for food and beverage businesses
- Ensure food security for all Rhode Islanders
- Minimize food waste as well as diverting it from the waste stream
- Rhode Island Stories highlighting how Rhode Island agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals are working to improve the state’s food system. Each story is linked to a goal set out in Relish Rhody, our state’s five-year food strategy.
- And more!
THE CHALLENGE: Rhode Island youth involved with the RI Department of Children, Youth, and Families need job skills, and local farms need a way to preserve surplus and B-Grade produce from becoming food waste.
THE APPROACH: Train youth ages 16–19 involved with the RI Department of Children, Youth, and Families on culinary job skills while creating a line of value-added products using ingredients sourced from local farms. Trainees also gain hands-on retail experience selling these goods at farmers markets and working in the Harvest Kitchen Café in downtown Pawtucket.
