Regionally produced, healthy food should be available to everyone. The project looks at food security in the Northeast in several different ways. One goal is to study the capacity of our region to produce more food into the future. Another equally important goal is to look at whether we have the ability to bring more regionally produced foods into low-income communities.
There are five objectives guiding the work of the project, and five corresponding teams carrying out this work.
- The Consumption Team is examining whether it is possible to enable communities to access regionally produced food, and will identify ways to overcome these challenges.
- The Distribution Team is evaluating supply chains―the ways that food, particularly in a specific market basket, moves from farms to consumers. There are many different types of supply chains. Distribution Team members will identify how these supply chains work, and use models to suggest improvements. They will propose policy changes that encourage and strengthen these supply chains.
- The Production Team is measuring the current and potential capacity of the Northeast's rural and urban regions to produce food to meet consumers' needs, comparing supply and demand of regionally produced food in the Northeastern US.
- The Outreach Team will share what is learned from this research with a variety of stakeholders in the food system. Stakeholders include those who eat, grow, buy, sell, and transport food, as well as those who educate, research, and make laws about food and farming. By sharing this information, we will enable change in a positive direction.
- The Education Team will support future leaders by teaching students the diverse skills needed to develop sustainable food systems.
