FINE’s Farm & Sea to Campus webinars create peer-to-peer learning opportunities for dining program directors, chefs, foodservice operators, supply chain businesses, and community partners who procure and promote New England food. Free to all; registration required. Click on each webinar link to view recordings and sign up for our newsletter to get notified of upcoming events.
Why You Need USDA's National Agricultural Library for Your Farming and Food Systems Work
February 9, 2022
Do you wish you had better insights into regional supply chains? High quality images to use for marketing and education? More access to data about farms and farming practices? Another way to find funding for your program or business? The United States National Agricultural Library (NAL) will provide you with helpful resources for these needs - and more! The NAL is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries. Millions of digital resources are available to the public, yet few people - even those working in regional food systems - are aware of how valuable these resources can be to their work.
USDA NAL [recording available]
Labor in Farm to Institution Supply Chains, Part 2:
Incorporating Worker Values into Local Food Procurement
January 26, 2022
Local food procurement is not just about reducing food miles and greenhouse gas emissions but also includes sourcing food that is fair, just, and supports workers' dignity. Today’s labor crisis is stark evidence of the need to listen and respond to the needs of workers in the food system. Join FINE and our speakers from Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Network and Migrant Justice to learn more about their worker-driven model, how the model was started, and the organizations that have implemented it. We will discuss what farm to institution stakeholders can learn from this model and how institutions can support worker-driven solutions to long-lasting worker abuses. We’ll also take a closer look at the dairy industry in New England as an example of worker-driven efforts and leadership. Learn more about how farmworkers and allies are making Vermont dairy sustainable, unique, and a source of dignified work for this state.
INCORPORATING WORKER VALUES [Recording Available]
Campus Food Security, Part 2:
Bunker Hill Community College and Food Link’s Community-Focused Partnership
November 3, 2021
Did you know that 40% of students attending two-year colleges experience food insecurity? When students lack access to enough nutritious, culturally connected food, retention and graduation rates fall and students struggle to reach their academic potential. Hear how Bunker Hill Community College in Boston and Food Link, an organization that rescues fresh surplus food and delivers to organizations in their community, have created a lasting and evolving partnership to meet student and community needs.
Campus Food Pantry Webinar [Recording Available]
Campus Food Security Part 1:
Creating and Sustaining Food Pantries
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 2 - 3 pm ET
Always wanted to set up a food pantry on campus, but feeling overwhelmed on how to get started? Not sure where to get the funding or staffing for an existing one? Join FINE and the New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network to learn about creating and sustaining food pantries on campuses.
Campus Food Pantry Webinar [recording available]
Labor in Farm to Institution Supply Chains
Part 1: Prison Labor and the Need for Transparency
Wed, Oct 6, 2021, 2 - 3 pm ET
Was the food on your plate grown or produced by incarcerated people? We don’t really know. The lack of transparency in our food supply chains means that it can be hard to trace food that’s available in hospitals, schools, and grocery stores- or to understand the working conditions of the incarcerated people making some of it. Senior staff reporter Claire Brown at The Counter addresses some of the questions spurred by this lack of transparency in her Sourced From Inside three-part series. The series was recently recognized by Online Journalism Awards, as a finalist in the “explanatory reporting, small newsroom” categories.
Prison Labor Transparency Webinar [Recording available]
From Boat to Food Bank to Dining Hall: How Local Chowder Became a Community Solution
Wed, Sep 22, 2 - 3pm ET
The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance (CCCFA) was looking for a way to support its small boat fishermen when the usual markets for their seafood hit hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic. With major support from national philanthropic sources committed to helping fishermen survive the pandemic while serving food-insecure communities, as well as MIT Sea Grant and new partners from across the food system, they developed a seafood chowder from Cape-caught haddock. A true collaboration by local partners, the fish are caught by independent fishermen, processed by a local processor, and made into the chowder by a family-owned company, all based in MA. This chowder helped feed New England communities, going to food banks and community pantries throughout the region. Working with MIT Dining, they then modified packaging and delivery to serve institutional, food service markets as well.