Welcome! You have arrived...
...at the Regenerative Food Network blog.
Thanks for taking the time to read the brief introduction below. Here we will be publishing stories of the work we and our neighbors are doing to regenerate the food system in the Northeast US; and on our social channels (Twitter and Instagram), we’ll be sharing not only our own tales but also news and information from other sources who are working on Regenerative Practices.
By Regenerative Practices, we mean:
Regenerative Agriculture—
promotes soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem function by providing carbon sequestration, water and mineral retention, increased productivity, better nutrition, profitability, and resiliency.
—Renewable Energy
provides cheaper, cleaner, distributed energy production. This increases not only the farmer and the systems profitability but also keeps more of every dollar in the local economy and provides additional development and employment opportunities.
Renewable Energy—
provides cheaper, cleaner, distributed energy production. This increases not only the farmer and the systems profitability but also keeps more of every dollar in the local economy and provides additional development and employment opportunities.
Electric Vehicles—
reduces the environmental footprint and impact of food, increases farmer and community profitability, and when powered by renewable energy keeps more money inside the community.
Our philosophy is straightforward: the food system needs redesigning around better principals.
- supporting local economic viability, environmental health, and social wellbeing.
- taking a big picture view by addressing the entire Northeastern region and looking across multiple sectors (agriculture, energy, and transportation).
So we formed Regenerative Food Network (RFN): a group of focused professionals with diverse backgrounds (investments, project finance, sustainable business, regenerative agriculture, food distribution, strategy, operations, technology, systems thinking, and philanthropy), driven by the pursuit of whole–system success, and committed to empowering and connecting sustainable food systems into a new “regenerative food network” that delivers positive benefits to the environment, health, and local resilience.
Day-to-day, we spend our time building a network of agricultural and value-added producers, food systems workers, and partner organizations in southern Vermont, western Massachusetts, and eastern New York, expanding the adoption of Regenerative Practices to enable a regional food system that provides 30% of the food needs of the Northeast’s 45 million residents by 2030 (#30by30).
For example, in the fall of 2020, we’re launching Southshire Meats in partnership with Studio Hill Farm and other local farmers to create a better model for regenerative farming, including start-up assistance; guaranteed purchase contracts; and fair, fast payment terms. Southshire is currently refurbishing a USDA-certified facility they’ve leased to handle meat processing. RFN Marketplace will then take on marketing, sales, and distribution of all the meat products and byproducts throughout the Southern Vermont food system (and beyond).
Additionally, we’re partnering with NAGA Bakehouse and regional regenerative grain farmers to launch Spoon Mountain Millers, encouraging the movement of regenerative, heritage grain farming in the Northeast, America’s original “Bread Basket”. Our first local planting of Buckwheat is in the ground and we’re refurbishing a combine in preparation for harvest.
We’re also building the infrastructure to get more farmers and farmer’s markets online in ways that open new direct and institutional markets, reduce middle-tier costs, keep in check escalating prices for consumers, and return more of every food dollar back to our member farmers and their communities.
