Dear friend, We are grateful for the many opportunities we’ve had this fall season to connect with friends and colleagues, make new alliances, and expand our network. We continue to be inspired by creative community spaces, including the Monarch Foundation, where we learned more about trust-based philanthropy; the ribbon-cutting for Radiance Gardens at the Regional Innovation Center in New London; and our Foodshed CSA pick-up days, where we build meaningful relationships with our subscribers. This is a time to bring forth big, bold ideas that disrupt the status quo. We need integrated leadership, hand-in-hand community collaboration, and a shared vision of justice. As we prepare for the end-of-year giving season, we are reflecting on how we want to show up in service of this shared vision. We hope you will consider supporting our work and helping us reach our full potential as a creatively disruptive force in the food justice movement. Foodshed Thymes brings together the people, stories, and ideas helping us envision a better way forward. Thank you for reading and for making our work possible. If you have feedback or ideas to share, please reach out directly at ali@thefoodshednetwork.org. In community, Ali Ghiorse Executive Director |
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HONORING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY |
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Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day, and we honor the rich history, enduring presence, and original stewardship of the Native peoples who first called this region home. According to Hidden History of Colonial Greenwich by Missy Wolfe, the founding purchase of Greenwich was natively named Petuckquapock or Betuckquapock. The "ock" and "aug" endings are waterway descriptors. The Weichquaesgeck lived in Westchester County and southwestern Connecticut. They spoke Munsee, the northernmost dialect of the eastern Algonkian language called Delaware. By learning and honoring these original place names and histories, we deepen our respect for the enduring legacy of the region's First Peoples. |
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For decades, food justice leaders: academics, activists, journalists, chefs, and farmers have debunked the long-standing myths that the Green Revolution is the only way to feed the world or that farmers must “get big or get out” to survive. Instead, these leaders continue to build regenerative, localized, and regional food systems. As communities experience the failures of the industrial system firsthand through rising prices, food contamination, and the exploitation of immigrant farmworkers, they are turning to small-medium sized farmers. In doing so, people are beginning to realize that their own well-being is deeply interconnected with the vitality of local agriculture. This shift in perspective is a powerful breakthrough, and a true silver lining. At the same time, food insecurity is rising exponentially right here in Greenwich and across the state. As part of Greenwich Foodshed Alliance’s Access & Equity initiative, co-leads Ali Ghiorse and Karen Saggese co-authored Our renewed plea to safeguard SNAP in the Farm Bill, analyzing the crucial link between local food systems and community food security. |
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Foodshed CSA Greenwich It’s not too late to subscribe to (or donate) a 4-week November Foodshed CSA box - the subscription window closes on October 16th! Check out the Weekly Harvest to see what comprises a weekly subscription. See here. Pick-up details: - Day: Tuesday
- Time: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Location: 606 Riversville Road, Greenwich
Greenwich’s farmers’ markets do not accept SNAP, making access to locally grown food limited for Greenwich’s food-insecure residents. Consider donating a CSA box to a neighbor! |
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Foodshed Forum Fairfield County Thank you to everyone who joined us at Localizing Food in Connecticut! Your enthusiasm made the event a huge success. Special thanks to North Greenwich Congregational Church, Dough Girls, and our Community Partners. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to our panelists for breaking down complex challenges into actionable steps for change. We’ve only scratched the surface and look forward to diving deeper. Stay tuned for our next Forum where we will build on all that was discussed. |
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Greenwich Foodshed Alliance (GFA) Farm to School: As part of their farm to school programming, New Lebanon School’s fifth graders visited Fairgate Farm, an urban farm in Stamford dedicated to fighting food insecurity by increasing equitable access to fresh food and promoting sustainable, healthy living. Farmers Pete and Liz do exceptional work educating the community and welcoming hundreds of students each season. During their visit, students learned about urban agriculture, hydroponic growing systems, composting, and the impact of growing food in an urban setting. New Lebanon’s first Harvest of the Season (HOS) of the school year celebrated the mighty green bean! This marked the first HOS where teachers fully integrated the activities into their curriculum. Students set up a Bean Dissection Lab, measured, sorted, tasted, air-fried, and created lots of artwork. It is wonderful to see this program growing, thriving, and becoming a celebrated part of New Lebanon’s school culture. For a deeper dive into New Lebanon's farm to school initiative check out the Greenwich Free Press op-ed we wrote to uplift this important work. See here. New Lebanon School extends a heartfelt thank-you to the Greenwich Alliance for Education for helping to make this program possible through its Reaching Out Grant. ---------------------------------------------------- Community of Practice: The GFA CoP took time to casually check in this month. Guided by two questions: What is weighing on you? and What is lighting you up? We had a thoughtful discussion spanning the challenges we face to the sources of hope and inspiration that power the solutions we need most. We came away feeling grateful for the ways people support one another with generosity and care. Join us on December 2nd for a discussion with Nessa Richman, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, as she shares insights from her new book: Food Policy Councils: Building Civic Engagement and Community Well-Being. |
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Women Leading Philanthropy As part of Climate Week NYC, we enjoyed an inspiring morning at the Monarch Foundation, where the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming hosted Women Leading Philanthropy, a conversation on how women are reshaping the philanthropic landscape by centering regional food systems. Moderated by Kathleen Finlay, President of Glynwood, the discussion featured Caroline Noble and Lisa Holmes, who were recognized for their exceptional leadership in trust-based philanthropy, a model rooted in relationships, reciprocity, and aligned values. Thank you to the Glynwood team and panelists for integrating care, compassion, and connection into this work. Learn more about Glynwood here. Faith, Farming, and Food Justice We also gathered at the Regional Innovation Center, where entrepreneur Vetiveah Immanuel led a hands-on gardening workshop, showing us how to grow collard greens directly from seed. The celebration continued with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a delicious lunch alongside friends and colleagues, including State Rep. Anthony Nolan and Dan Gaiewski. We are deeply inspired by Vetiveah’s powerful mission to liberate her community through faith, farming, and food justice. Learn more about Vetiveah Immanuel here. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month As National Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, we uplifted three friends of The Foodshed Network in a recent Instagram post. Chef Alfredo Maldonado, founder of Zen~Sational Catering
Chef Raquel Rivera, founder of A Pinch of Salt
Chef Juan Benitez, founder of Juan's Table Thank you for bringing your heritage, craft and heart to our community! See post here. |
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DONATE, SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW |
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Today's industrial food system is failing us. TFN was founded in 2020 to bridge critical gaps in food system education that slow progress toward food justice. We unite partners, community initiatives, and mission-aligned individuals to increase connectivity and advance systemic change. |
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The Foodshed Network (TFN) is a fiscally sponsored project of Third Sector New England, Inc. (TSNE), which provides back-office administrative support that allows TFN to focus on its programming and achieve its mission. |
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194 Putnam Park
Greenwich , CT 06830, USA |
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