Hubbard Breeders, located in Walpole, NH, is Food Connects' top corporate donor for its Farm to School program the 2021-2022 school year!
Since 1921, Hubbard has been a worldwide reference for broiler breeding stock. While not a producer for the Food Connects Food Hub, their commitment to animal welfare aligns with the organization’s values. Hubbard is CODE EFABAR certified, which “addresses the issues of food safety and public health, product quality, genetic diversity, efficiency, environmental impact, animal health, animal welfare, and breeding and reproduction technologies.”
“With our focus on breeding sustainably, Hubbard shares mutual values with Food Connects for Healthy Families, Thriving Farms, and Connected Communities,” says Anne Hill, Hubbard Breeders Human Resource Manager, “We feel compelled to promote them in their efforts of supporting educators, food service directors, farms, and community members in cultivating healthy farm and food connections in classrooms, cafeterias, and communities across the region.”
The partnership between the two organizations began in late 2021 and goes beyond a donor and recipient transaction. Food Connects and Hubbard took time to connect their teams and figure out how to make a meaningful partnership that would benefit not only the organizations but the community as well. Ideas abounded when the two organizations met including:
Ways that they could impact Farm to School in the region
Supporting school horticulture programs
Helping grow community and school gardens by providing supplies and resources
Presenting in classrooms and job readiness programs to teach more students about the possibilities of agricultural job employment
“Despite the rain, our own April Sears volunteered with Food Connects to donate her time and gave an extra set of hands to Orchard Hill Breadworks to assist with gardening! She helped dig trenches around the community garden and get the plantation freshened up for the spring season! Go to the Orchard Hill Breadworks in Alstead, NH to get some delicious baked goods. If you get an oven brick pizza you can pick your toppings from the community garden that April helped with. Thank you April for helping our community on your spare time, we are pleased to have you as a Hubbard employee. If you come to the main office you will see April as she is our receptionist and you can ask her about her time with Orchard Hill Breadworks. ”
Food Connects is grateful for the opportunity to work with such a strong community partner. Already, Hubbard has supported the growth of the Farm to School program throughout the year and even contributed volunteers to recent Food Connects’ events. The growth of both organizations, in tandem, will surely mean success in the years to come.
Food Connects is an entrepreneurial non-profit that delivers locally produced food as well as educational and consulting services aimed at transforming local food systems. The Food Hub aggregates and delivers from over 150 regional farms and food producers to over 150 buyers in southeast Vermont, southwest New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts. Their educational services focus on Farm to School programming. Acknowledged as a statewide leader, the program supports over 30 schools to increase local food purchasing, school meal participation, and food, farm, and nutrition education. Together these core programs contribute to a vibrant local economy by increasing local food purchases by schools and improving students’ nutrition and academic performance. Food Connects is frequently hired to provide leadership and consulting services for efforts to support food systems initiatives throughout New England and act as a catalyst for change.
Hubbard Breeders is a chicken breeding company, dedicated to improving the communities they work in. If you’ve driven down Cheshire Turnpike lately, you probably saw some fancy chicken houses going up in south Langdon. Those (nearly finished) chicken houses comprise two state-of-the-art farms that Hubbard LLC is starting up. One is called Pleasant Valley Farm after the original farm that was there, and the other is named Centennial Farm in honor of Hubbard’s 100-year anniversary last year. Hubbard’s $13M investment in these farms will bring tax revenue into Langdon and create jobs for the community. If that piques your interest, stop by our office in Walpole and ask for Anne or Lucas!