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The NOFA-NH Local & Organic Food Project

In 2006, NOFA-NH initiated its Local & Organic Food Project with the goals of increasing the availability of fresh, local and organic foods in NH; increasing interaction and understanding between local agricultural producers and consumers; strengthening the vitality of NH communities; and enhancing the quality of life for all NH citizens. As we all know, choosing local and organic foods is the right thing to do on so many levels. Better for us and our families, better for the environment, better for the local economy, etc. But for so many of us life now moves so fast that we may not have as much time as we'd like to search out the many local sources of good food. Growers are also pressed for time and need convenient ways to connect to their customers. NOFA-NH believes that every community needs a strong network of local producers and a variety of markets that fit the needs of each and every community member.

Beginning with an intensive pilot project in the community of Canterbury, NH and documenting our experiences, our goal here is to provide inspiration, encouragement and guidance to communities throughout the state as they work to enhance their own local and organic food networks. In 2006/2007 we helped to initiate the Canterbury Community Farmers Market and presented a series of Organic Gardening Workshops for the Canterbury community.

In 2008, we established Local & Organic Food Canterbury - a community online farmers market which NOFA-NH will fund with grant support for two years. Also in 2008, we began work on the NOFA-NH Local & Organic Food Networks Manual, a document which will serve as a guide and inspiration to communities throughout the state who wish to strengthen their own local and organic food networks. This manual will focus on the many and varied aspects of creating sustainable local and organic agriculture, using the Canterbury experience as the central but not the sole example.

In 2009 and beyond, we will continue working with the Canterbury community to inventory current sources of local and organic food and to identify and prioritize future projects that will strengthen the local food network. We will also be helping other towns in NH develop similar programs and are looking forward to doing what we can to support local and organic agriculture in this state. Please join us in this undertaking!

For more information about the statewide NOFA-NH Local and Organic Food Project, contact Essie Hull, NOFA Board member, at seedhead@essenceofthings.com.

For more information about NOFAÂ-NH's Local & Organic Food Project in Canterbury, contact Barbara Sullivan, Project Director, at borksullivan@earthlink.net.

You can visit Local & Organic Food Canterbury at localfoodscanterbury.org, or contact Jessica Ellis, the Online Market Coordinator at lofcanterbury@gmail.com. If you'd like some first-hand experience working with the online market, volunteers are very welcome.

Will Frey is the Coordinator for the NOFA-NH Local & Organic Food Networks Manual. If you would like to be listed in the Canterbury Local Foods Inventory, or have ideas for future projects, please contact him at wilmerfrey@hotmail.com.

Stay tuned for more information. As work on the manual progresses, you will be able to access the information from the NOFA-NH website at www.nofanh.org.

The NOFA-NH Local & Organic Food Project is supported by grants from The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, The Sandy River Charitable Foundation and Northeast SARE.