Our mission at Farm Fresh Rhode Island is to grow the local food system to be sustainable and healthy for both the farmers and eaters in our region. We offer farmers markets and transparent enterprise systems that help New England farmers, fishers, and small food businesses reach more customers. And we work with the community through outreach, incentives, and educational programs to increase the accessibility and affordability of fresh, local foods for all. Farm Fresh RI programs support hundreds of farmers and food producers, and connect tens of thousands of consumers to locally grown food each year. For example: Since 2009, over $13 million in local food was sold on behalf of local family farmers and producers through Farm Fresh RI’s Market Mobile system—a national model for transparent wholesale food distribution. Harvest Kitchen is Farm Fresh RI’s culinary job training program for youth ages 16–20 from the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families’ Juvenile Corrections Services, and those aging out of foster care. Trainees work to create value-added products and grab-n-go meals using ingredients sourced from local farms, and get hands-on retail experience selling their goods at farmers markets and working in our Café + Corner Store in downtown Pawtucket — opening to the public in August, 2017. On the Horizon Located in a community with limited access to fresh food, the Harvet Kitchen Café + Corner store will offer locally sourced fresh produce, staple groceries, grab-n-go meals, and our full line of youth-made products. In addition, to further increase access to nutritious options in low-access neighborhoods, Farm Fresh RI has partnered with the RI Department of Health to source, cook, and distribute affordable prepared foods to participating corner stores in Pawtucket and Central Falls. Just like in our own Café + Corner Store, these meals will be sourced locally, youth made, and delicious. Farm Fresh Rhode Island has also made a big step toward building a Rhode Island Food Hub—a center for food- and agriculture-related businesses—in the Valley neighborhood of Providence. We have purchased vacant land (3.2 acres) at the intersection of Kinsley and Sims Ave, and are hoping to begin construction on a 60,000-square-foot building in 2018 (to be completed in 2019). In addition to moving our operations to this new space, we also expect to create another Harvest Kitchen training facility, develop room for other food-related businesses to set up shop, and launch another farmers market.

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Farm Fresh Rhode Island

Farm Fresh Rhode Island

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