I am writing this update from an Amtrak train home from Washington D.C., where I spent the week advocating with other members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
As the only Rhode Island member, it is up to RIFPC to make sure that Rhode Island farmers’ voices are heard in our nation’s capital. This year I was thrilled to bring a guest, Kelli Roberts, proprietor of Roots Farm in Tiverton and the new volunteer executive director of the RI office of the National Organic Farmers Association (NOFA-RI). It was amazing to have RIFPC and NOFA-RI work together in this manner for the first time, and Kelli and I are looking forward to strengthening the relationship going forward.
In our meetings with our four congressional delegation members, we focused on two main issues:
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First, we advocated for continuation of funding for the market that connects our local farmers and fishers with our food insecure communities. The Local Food Procurement Agreements were ended abruptly at the beginning of 2025. As a result, over 100 farmers lost a market and tens of thousands of food-insecure Rhode Islanders lost access to fresh produce. Now a bill has been introduced in the House and Senate to make this program permanent.
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Second, we advocated for strong conservation technical assistance programs. Due to federal workforce challenges created by the current administration, Rhode Island has lost a larger percentage of USDA staff than any other state – nearly a third. Without these staff members, scores of critical programs that support our small farmers like EQIP and CSP are less accessible. We asked our members to support an appropriation of $1B in 2027 to hire staff to ensure these programs reach Rhode Island farmers.
In one very long and tiring day, we were able to meet in the offices of all four of our Congressional Delegation members: Senator Reed, Senator Whitehouse, Representative Magaziner and Representative Gabe Amo. They learned about what Rhode Island farmers need now and how food security needs are growing and shifting in our state as a result of federal changes to the SNAP program. They were thrilled to be invited to Roots Farm by Kelli, and they encouraged us to continue to reach out on behalf of Rhode Island’s food system stakeholders.