Advancing Greenwich’s food security initiatives by strengthening & leveraging relationships, knowledge and networks |
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Community of Practice (CoP) |
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Friday, July 25, 2025 9:00 - 10:15am Kelley Tomlinson Community Health Educator at Norwalk Food Alliance Norwalk Food Alliance (NFA) is housed within Norwalk's Department of Health. NFA is doing exceptional work to advance health through equitable access to nutrient dense food for all Norwalk residents. Please join us, you will be inspired! |
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Food Policy In June, Karen and Ali co-authored a letter to Senator Murphy, Senator Blumenthal and Representative Himes advocating for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The letter was signed by members of the GFA- Food Policy Working Group. Additionally, it was submitted as an Opinion piece and published by the CT Insider and CT Mirror.The budget reconciliation bill passed through the Senate and House and was signed into law on the 4th of July. We are re-sharing the letter here as it provides broader context around the impact the cuts to SNAP will have on children, seniors, families, farmers and our local economies. A plea to our Senators to safeguard SNAP see here.We thank our Senators and Representative for their courage in defending our democracy at a time rife with challenges. - Civil Eats article - break down of SNAP cuts: here.
- Slow Food USA webinar - break down of SNAP cuts: here
- USDA Secretary Rollins statement after the budget reconciliation bill was signed into law. Read here.
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Access + Equity Jewish Family Services Greenwich (JFSG) is officially serving as an ‘issuance partner’ for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program for seniors. This is an exciting step towards equitable access to local produce in our community! Under the facilitation of Geoffrey Anderson, the Chief Program Officer at JFSG, cards with a $40 balance per month will be issued to eligible seniors to use at the Greenwich and Old Greenwich Farmers' Markets. There are still card available, if you work with low income seniors interested in purchasing at market this summer, please reach out to: ganderson@jfsgreenwich.org. As the program and capacity develops we will support communications for WIC recipients, who are also eligible for the program. We also plan on raising funds in order to double the spending amount. Stay tuned! Learn about the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program here. |
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Farm To School In March New Lebanon Elementary School was accepted into Vermont FEED's (Food Education Every Day) Northeast Farm To School Institute 2025 cohort. The Institute is a unique year-long professional learning opportunity for selected school, district, or early childhood teams from New England and New York.
Farm To School supports youth in connecting the dots of where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment, and their communities at large. Since 2010, the Northeast Farm to School Institute (NFTSI) has been bringing teams together to build relationships, skills, and a collaborative action plan for their schools. With the support of a coach, teams spend the school year putting their plans into action and strengthening their capacity to impact classrooms, cafeterias, and communities, with change that lasts.
At the end of June New Lebanon Elementary School convened a team of farm to school enthusiasts: Dr. Dan Russo, Anna Catanzaro, Beth Pierson, Martha Ramkellawan and Ali Ghiorse -- who attended the Institute’s three day retreat at Shelburne Farms. Foodshed attended representing ‘Community’. It was a remarkable experience! Learn about the NFTSI here. Learn about the evolution of the National School Lunch Program The Twisted History of School Lunch: part 1 + part 2 is excellent! |
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On behalf of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity (CWCSEO), I am pleased to invite you to join us for a 3-event series to mark Hunger Action Month. These events aim to bring people from across the state together to connect, learn about issues that contribute to food and nutrition insecurity, and discuss possible solutions to those challenges. The information for each event is below, with more details being available on the RSVP links. We encourage anyone who is interested to RSVP by clicking on the relevant links. Feel free to share these with your network. How do we Measure Hunger: the Role of Data in Food and Nutrition Security - When: Wednesday, September 17th, 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
- Where: Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building (300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106)
- Description: Data is critical to identifying food and nutrition insecurity and determining what solutions are/will be effective. The data we have provides invaluable insights and there are new metrics in development, but there are also gaps that need to be filled. This event will explore what we know, what we don’t, and opportunities to expand data access in the future.
- RSVP Here
Identifying Nutritious and Affordable Options in Today's Food Environment - When: Friday, September 26th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
- Where: Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building (300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106)
- Description: There is a ton of information out there about “healthy diets” but much of it is confusing or contradictory. There’s also a lot of buzzwords like “ultra-processed” flying around that aren’t always clearly defined. As a shopper, it can be hard to know just how nutritious or non-nutritious an item is. This is especially true when some information is not easily visible when looking at an item in the grocery store or online.
- Come learn:
- What’s missing from the food label
- How to spot healthy vs. unhealthy items
- How to navigate the grocery store or online food spaces.
- RSVP Here
A Conversation on Food and Nutrition Education for Family Wellbeing - When: Wednesday, October 1st, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- Where: Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building (300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106)
- Description: Knowledge about nutrition, cooking, growing food, accessing available resources, and more can significantly strengthen families' food security and health. However, access to opportunities to develop knowledge and skills around food is not always available to everyone. This event hopes to explore the current state of food and nutrition education in Connecticut, where there are gaps in access to that education, and opportunities to fill those gaps.
- RSVP Here
If you have any questions feel free to reach out. Thank you for your time and I hope you are able to join us! Best Regards, Christian Duborg, Food & Nutrition Policy Analyst |
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WE have the power to be food system changemakers. |
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Greenwich Foodshed Alliance is a program of The Foodshed Network, a fiscally sponsored organization of Third Sector New England, Inc. (TSNE) |
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