Rhode Island Food Policy Council

The Grassroots Fund is excited to announce a new grant opportunity to our network! Environmental Justice for New England (EJforNE) is a partnership between the Grassroots Fund, Health Resources in Action, and Alternatives for Community & Environment, who together serve as the New England region Grantmaker for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Communities Grantmaking Program (TCGM). Environmental Justice for New England (EJforNE) is now accepting applications for community-based projects in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and among federally-recognized and state-recognized Tribal Nations of EPA Region 1. Learn More and Apply: https://lnkd.in/eXsRFj-m Eligibility: These funds are available for nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, grassroots organizations, Tribal governments (both federally-recognized and state-recognized), intertribal consortia, and Native American organizations. Projects must focus on at least one “EPA IRA Disadvantaged Community” within New England or make a case for why they propose a project outside this area. Applicants are not required to be registered as a 501c3 but all applicants, including fiscally sponsored organizations or groups, must have either an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). These processes check to see if you are a licensed entity in your state and do not require you to be a 501(c)3.

Dear Friends and Colleagues, The Food Policy Council had another year of tremendous growth in 2024. We launched new staff and new programs, saw another big expansion in our network membership, and achieved a whole new level of advocacy at both the state and federal levels. Our growth was fueled by the generosity, vision and hard work of all of our staff and network members. We cannot thank you enough for what you have achieved! While it sometimes felt chaotic and messy, our combined work was always focused on ways to make our local food system more resilient, more sustainable, and more truly equitable. To name just a few highlights from 2024…. Our state advocacy tackled some of the most difficult and long-standing challenges in Rhode Island’s food system: preserving our dwindling farmland, growing our small and urban farms, reducing the wasted food clogging up our landfill, and ensuring that all of Rhode Island’s schoolchildren are well-fed during the school day. Meeting each of these challenges is a multi-year process. The workgroups that supported state legislation in each of these areas educated lawmakers and built coalitions, and will continue their work in 2025 and beyond. There was one big win—placing $5 million in the Green Bond for farmland preservation. 2024 was the second year that a Council workgroup actively advocated at the federal level, focused on the Farm Bill. By joining the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), Council members were able to access real-time updates and analyses of Farm Bill negotiations and appropriations. Although Congress was too gridlocked to pass a new Farm Bill in 2024, network members and staff were able to educate our congressional delegates on which Farm Bill programs and funds were most important to the health of our local food system, and they will continue to advocate until the next Farm Bill is passed (hopefully in 2025). KEEP READING: https://lnkd.in/eiWjgTb6

The Rhode Island Food Policy Council (RIFPC) has been awarded a transformational $18.7M grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program. The "From Food Waste to Opportunity: A Path toward Climate, Environmental, & Economic Justice in Rhode Island" project will enable a generational investment in the critical area of food waste reduction. More than 40% of unused food is sent to landfills, and about 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributed to food waste. In Rhode Island, food waste is the top single material in the state’s waste stream. Over the next three years, RIFPC and its municipal and nonprofit partners will implement a multilevel approach to food waste reduction, donation, and composting in 64 contiguous qualifying census tracts in Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls and 14 in Newport and Middletown. These communities are ideal sites for the project based on the unique strengths of their residents, schools, businesses, nonprofits, and institutions. The From Food Waste to Opportunity: A Path toward Climate, Environmental, & Economic Justice in Rhode Island project will train over 500 people to participate in the circular economy, engage over 300 businesses, schools, and other organizations in excess food donation and food waste composting, create nearly 40 new jobs, provide free compost pickup services for 15,000 households in Environmental Justice communities (using clean electric trucks and bicycles), install over 30 community compost pickup locations and 9 new compost processing facilities ranging in size from small to large. By the end of the three-year grant term, over 11K tons of food waste will be diverted from the landfill, eliminating over 15K tons of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere. READ MORE! https://lnkd.in/dstEr--P

The Rhode Island Food Policy Council (RIFPC) has been awarded a transformational $18.7M grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program. The "From Food Waste to Opportunity: A Path toward Climate, Environmental, & Economic Justice in Rhode Island" project will enable a generational investment in the critical area of food waste reduction. More than 40% of unused food is sent to landfills, and about 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributed to food waste. In Rhode Island, food waste is the top single material in the state’s waste stream. Over the next three years, RIFPC and its municipal and nonprofit partners will implement a multilevel approach to food waste reduction, donation, and composting in 64 contiguous qualifying census tracts in Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls and 14 in Newport and Middletown. These communities are ideal sites for the project based on the unique strengths of their residents, schools, businesses, nonprofits, and institutions. The From Food Waste to Opportunity: A Path toward Climate, Environmental, & Economic Justice in Rhode Island project will train over 500 people to participate in the circular economy, engage over 300 businesses, schools, and other organizations in excess food donation and food waste composting, create nearly 40 new jobs, provide free compost pickup services for 15,000 households in Environmental Justice communities (using clean electric trucks and bicycles), install over 30 community compost pickup locations and 9 new compost processing facilities ranging in size from small to large. By the end of the three-year grant term, over 11K tons of food waste will be diverted from the landfill, eliminating over 15K tons of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere. READ MORE! https://lnkd.in/dstEr--P

Join us in welcoming Blong to the RIFPC staff! As our Seasonal Outreach Coordinator, he is working to connect with farmers about technical assistance we can help them with, and providing critical support to our Food Business & Economic Development program. Blong is experienced in engineering, commercial fishing, insurance, financial advising, and farming. He's also the Community Gardens Associate for Southside Community Land Trust. He has extensive ties to Rhode Island's Hmong Community, and enjoys working outdoors and connecting with community members. Be sure to say hello when you see him out in the field! Or, reach him at blong@rifoodcouncil.org 😊

📣 Now accepting applications for this Spring internship opportunity! 📣 🤓 If you're interested in digging into how the Council makes a difference and want to understand how we create effects in the food system, we want to work with you! 🌿Our Network Impact Evaluation Intern will be a key teammate, evaluating information about the changes (or "impacts") produced by our projects, programs, and initiatives, which will help us make important decisions about the future. 👋 We're looking for someone with experience doing research, document analysis, and interviews, and who has strong writing skills. We also want you to be comfortable working and communicating with a broad range of demographically, experientially, and cognitively diverse people. Link in bio to apply!

🥳 Our 2025 Good Food Policy Agenda is ready to share - let's talk about it! This year you'll find us at the RI State House, in communities, at events, online, and everywhere else we can reach you to advocate for: 💪 Creating a dedicated Compost Fund⁠ 💪 Creating a food recovery tax credit⁠ 💪 Making school lunches free for all Rhode Islanders⁠ 💪 Enacting a Small & Urban Farms tax credit⁠ There's more than one way to get involved in supporting these priorities. Join us this Tuesday to discuss what our work groups are dialed in on, and how you can support the effort. 📅 December 10, 2024 🕛️ 12-1pm 💻️ on Zoom

Will election results deliver a farm bill this year? Join us on Tuesday, November 19 at noon to learn from National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Senior Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator Nezahualcoyotl Xiuhtecutli, Ph.D. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dCjAE3v3

Passing 'Proposition 4' means $53 million to fund critical land and farm conservation, green development, and jobs in every city and town in the state. Shout out to Council members Andrew Morley and Laura Haverland from @Sweet & Salty Farm (one of our state's few dairy farms) for their op-ed to @ecoRI News last week, focused on how Prop. 4's farmland conservation funding will support our farmers: "If Rhode Island is going to weather the challenges that a changing climate is bringing us, including disrupted food supply chains, we need more farmers, more farms, and more food grown here in Rhode Island." Read the full op-ed 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eVmfRSKi

October’s edition of "Notes from the Field" is here 🍂 new name, same mission! From policy updates to events and resources, this issue is packed with ways to stay connected and informed—and definitely "worth your time"! In this issue:⁠ ⁠ • Policy Retreat 2024: Recap and next steps for 2025 priorities⁠ • New Board Members: Meet the newest leaders joining RIFPC⁠ • Program Highlights: Updates from— Food Access & Nutrition Security, Food, Climate & Environment, and Food Business & Economy⁠ • Policy for the People: Upcoming event on Nov 19 at noon ET—Farm Bill Update⁠ • We’re Hiring: Join our team as a Food Climate & Environment Program Associate or Seasonal Outreach Coordinator⁠ ⁠ Check out the full newsletter 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eZnVVEBW