Food Connects

Food Connects Is Celebrating Ten Years of Healthy Families, Thriving Farms, and Connected Communities!

In 2023, Food Connects is celebrating ten years of serving families, farms, and communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Food Connects Is Celebrating Ten Years of Healthy Families, Thriving Farms, and Connected Communities! In 2023, Food Connects is celebrating ten years of serving families, farms, and communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massach

Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition

2022 MONADNOCK EARTH DAY FILM FESTIVAL

Hosted by the Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition (MFCC), Monadnock International Film Festival, &

The Monadnock Food Co-op

MFCC will partner with Monadnock International Film Festival and the Monadnock Food Coop, offering a virtual film festival as part of the region's Earth Day Celebrations. 

The Monadnock Earth Day Film Festival will take place from April 20 - April 22, 2022. This free online event will feature films and host panel discussions to celebrate and cultivate a more resilient world.

"We are excited to offer 3, short documentaries that shed light on current ag-related initiatives addressing climate change, regional food resiliency, and food access. A panel discussion will accompany each film. Panelists will unpack for audience members how they work to build a sustainable, resilient, and fair food system.” said Roe-Ann Tasoulas from Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition.

FILMS:

FARM FREE OR DIE - 2022

Climate Change | English | 30 min   

Extreme weather events are hitting America’s farmers hard and more frequently than ever before. "Farm Free or Die" shows how transformative agricultural policies can improve farming livelihoods while addressing the climate crisis. The stories of farmers on the front lines of severe environmental and economic adversity will catalyze support for policies that stabilize rural communities, strengthen food security, and incentivize soil health and carbon removal.

Roger Sorkin, American Resiliency Project, Writer and Director of Farm Free or Die, will be available for audience questions following the screening.

FARMER CEE - 2020

Social Justice | Food/Farming | BIPOC | English | 12 min

Clarenda "Cee" Stanley is currently the CEO/President of Green Heffa Farms. From an agrarian family in Alabama's Black Belt, Cee did not see herself as a farmer. But in 2018, she co-founded Green Heffa Farms and was selected to be the 2019 Featured Farmer for Hemp History Week. However, in 2019, Cee also found herself being solely responsible for Green Heffa Farms, and from there, she began to reimagine the legacy she wanted to leave for her children and grandchildren.

Panel discussion will follow screening.

HOPE ON THE HUDSON: GROWING WITH THE GRAIN - 2019

Food/Farming | Climate Change | English | 15 min                       

Upstate New York used to be a breadbasket of grain growing. Westward expansion yielded more ideal climates for growing and production shifted to the Midwest. Scientists, farmers, bakers, and brewers take part in a grain trial test that hopes to produce a new generation of grain suited for the northeast, bringing sustainable and more localized grain production back to the region.

Panel discussion participants: Sarah Cox, Tuckaway Farm; Sam Temple, Fire Dog Bread; Christian and Andrea Stanley, Valley Malt/Ground Up. Cox and the Stanleys are members of the Northeast Grainshed Alliance.

"MONIFF is thrilled to partner with the Monadnock Food Co-op and Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition to celebrate Earth Day by bringing the community together through diverse films and thoughtful discussions," said Dee Fitzgerald from Monadnock International Film Festival. 

This event is free; however, registration is required. Register at:

 monadnock2022earthdayfestival.eventive.org/welcome.


SPONSORS:

Monadnock Children’s Food Access Alliance wins grant to assemble a food access plan”

Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition.png

Keene, NH – New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation awards the County of Cheshire a $20,000 grant to fiscal sponsor a project with Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition (MFCC) and Healthy Monadnock, who will form the Monadnock Children’s Food Access Alliance. The Alliance will regularly assemble during 2021 to work towards a long term goal to improve the overall health of children in the Monadnock region.

The Alliance’s key objective is to identify opportunities for children and families to access affordable healthy food and increase participation in programs. This will be accomplished by conducting a comprehensive analysis of assets and gaps in present children’s food security programs, coordinating existing services and programs to increase program efficiencies, convening stakeholders (e.g., focus groups, listening sessions) to examine data and information, co-designing a plan with community members to fill identified gaps in programs and services, and enabling community members to access existing programs. Success of this project will mean that children in the Monadnock region have excellent health and easy access to nutritious food, regardless of their economic or family status.

The intent of this project is to help leaders design effective programs. Presently, food security and access programs in the Monadnock region are underused and little data exists as to why that is or if vulnerable people know about resources and assistance available. Numerous anecdotes in the region from school professionals and medical providers reference families cutting back or going into debt to feed their kids. Yet programs like SNAP, Granite State Market Match, and EBT benefits are underutilized. The region's food access providers and public health officials will be better positioned to help these people if they had more information about the people who need services and their barriers to accessing those services.

MFCC is the ideal organization to lead efforts to closely examine the local food system because it works with about 140 members to cultivate community action, connect people to resources, and foster relationships that benefit local farmers and public health. According to Roe-Ann Tasoulas, MFCC director, “Three of the Coalition’s goals tie directly into this effort: increase food production and consumption in the region, and provide resources and encourage advocacy for an equitable food system. Our members are passionate about healthy food and making it available to all Monadnock residents.”

Healthy Monadnock and Cheshire Medical Center’s Center for Population Health will support the Coalition’s efforts and provide technical assistance, network connections, and use of the Healthy Monadnock brand. It provides education and advocacy, oversight for public health projects, and supports the implementation of the Community Health Improvement Plan. Cheshire County government will provide fiscal sponsorship, and will manage the contractual aspect of the grant award and its subcontracts.

“Being a part of bring this project to fruition is what our work is all about,” says Tricia Zahn, Center for Population Health and MFCC board member. “It is energizing to know so many people in the Monadnock Region are passionate about food access improvements and to have our project ideas validated by an external competitive funder is no small feat.”

Funding for this project was made possible by the New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation through a competitive application program for reducing food insecurity in children and families by increasing access to affordable healthy food.

The Alliance seeks stakeholder participation at their meetings and other various stages of the planning project. To sign up or for more information, contact Roe-Ann Tasoulas, MFCC Director at coordinator@mfccoalition.org or 802.271.4191