RI FOOD SYSTEMS PLANNING FOR 2030
Planning is underway!
The Director of Food Strategy in partnership with leaders from RI Commerce, RI Department of Environmental Management, RI Department of Health and the Narragansett Indian Tribe along with community partners are leading the effort to renew and reimagine Rhode Island's state food strategy.
State government, non-profit organizations and industry stakeholders have relied on Rhode Island's first state food systems plan Relish Rhody to assess what has been accomplished in the last five years. Now in an effort to develop a road map for the next phase of collective impact, this effort is co-creating a shared vision and setting goals out to 2030. Food system stakeholders across the supply chain are convening to better understand where have we made progress since the 2017 publication of Relish Rhody Food Strategy was released, where have we fallen short, where are the areas for greatest opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable and equitable food system for all Rhode Islander and more!
Why a state-wide food strategy?
State food plans aid government, non-profits and industry partners in
1) identifying common goals and connecting partners for collective impact,
2) establishing shared metrics for strategic action and greater impact,
3) informing policymakers of statewide and local priorities, and
4) catalyzing collective action across the food system.
The RI food strategy serves to coordinate and align the efforts of the dedicated organizations seeking to make the food system a more resilient, sustainable and equitable food system for all who live and work in Rhode Island.
[Picture on right: Advisory Board Kick-off Meeting at Southside Community Land Trust (June 2023)]
Our approach to the planning process
We envision a food system in Rhode Island that is just and healthy for all people, resilient in the face of a changing climate, and flourishing economically. To help us collectively reach this vision, the Rhode Island Food Systems Planning for 2030 effort seeks to create shared goals for communities, organizations, industry, funders, and the state.
In the spirit of the indigenous framework of “two-eyed” seeing, we understand that there are many ways of knowing and expertise can both be from an academic and/or western science as well as generational and lived experience. With this in mind, we are pursuing data-driven solutions as well as narrative and anecdotal expertise.
Research and discovery will be an integral part of each phase of the planning process beginning with the development of 23 briefs. The brief co-authors will conduct secondary research along with focus groups and one-on-one interviews. After the briefs are published, there will be listening sessions held to continue to inform the development of the strategy. Finally, the strategy, once published, will include both metrics and implementation partners as well as narratives and quotes from individuals with lived experience.
We recognize that for this state-wide plan to be meaningful and actionable, it must be informed by those most impacted by the negative effects of the food system as well as those with the resources to positively change it. While state agencies coordinate the efforts of the strategy, the RI Food Systems Planning for 2030 effort is seeking to make this work continuously collaborative, co-created, and community-driven.
Guiding Principles
These values and fundamental values are steering our approach, activities, partnerships and activities.
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Regional resilience – Our food system doesn’t stop at our state’s borders. Rhode Island’s size and dense population requires regional thinking if we are to produce 50% of our food by 2060.
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Equity, diversity & inclusivity - The negative impacts of environmental, economic and public health outcomes of our food system disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities. We must build a food system that works for all.
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Environmental sustainability & climate change impacts - The food system contributes 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and our ability to produce food is already impacted by more severe storms, droughts, floods and environmental disruption.
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Community & industry needs – This plan will seek to support the needs of the people and businesses in the state, fostering community food webs.
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Sustainable and equitable economic development – Food businesses can be a means of economic mobility. Investments must be made to support for more healthy, nutritious, and affordable food to be available to Rhode Islanders.
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Metrics & impact driven – Based on data, the tactics and strategies will be grounded in trackable metrics to measure the status of priorities in the implementation period.
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Collective impact & collaboration - Together community members, organizations, and institutions will advance equity by learning together, aligning, and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems level change.
