FSRI Awarded Food Systems Planning Contract for the North Country

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FSRI Awarded Food Systems Planning Contract:

The Food Systems Research Institute Awarded Contract To Further The “Keep Growing” Initiative Efforts to Grow Northern New Hampshire’s and Northeastern Vermont’s Agricultural Economy and Build Its Local Food System

Shelburne, VT ─ February 15, 2013 ─ The Food Systems Research Institute, LLC (FSRI) is very pleased to announce that it has been selected by Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust (ACT) to further the Keep Growing initiative. The mission of the Keep Growing project is to “revitalize and foster innovation in the agricultural economy and build a strong local food system in Northern NH and Northeastern VT” and is, in part, a result of the broader Northern Tier Farm and Forest Jobs Accelerator program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development program.

Under ACT’s leadership a group of dedicated stakeholders determined the time was right to capitalize on the region’s natural resource assets, heritage, work ethic, ingenuity, culture and working landscape to transition the regional economy toward a sustainable and creative future.

The Food Systems Research Institute will provide general food system expertise and advisory services, develop a comprehensive North Country Food Systems Atlas, create and implement a new Keep Growing website (including web mapping capabilities), and assist with market analyses. “The work involved in the Keep Growing initiative is core to FSRI’s mission,” said Jesse McEntee, FSRI Managing Partner. “In order to build a resilient, sustainable, and economically viable regional food system, we’re going to have to put our resources into understanding this system and all of its assets. Specifically, this will involve taking proactive steps to build economic and social capital for the benefit of citizens of the North Country and Northeast Kingdom; the Keep Growing initiative does just that,” said McEntee.

About ACT

Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust (ACT) is the regional non-profit lands conservancy for northern New Hampshire. ACT has a demonstrated record of convening and managing cross-sector collaborative enterprises in addition to conserving over 3,000 acres of working forests and farmland (http://www.aconservationtrust.org/). More can learned about the Keep Growing initiative at: (http://www.keepgrowingnhvt.org/)

About FSRI

The Food Systems Research Institute (FSRI) is a food systems consulting firm that specializes in providing food system expertise to businesses, non-profits, and institutions. The core suite of services includes business strategy and analytics, geographic information systems and mapping, as well as academic research and education. Committed to the development of sustainable food systems, FSRI prioritizes client needs using a whole-systems approach. More can be learned at: (http://www.foodsri.com)

PDF version of press release available here.

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Media Contact:
Jesse McEntee, PhD
jmcentee@foodsri.com |802.448.2403