Rhode Island Food Policy Council

Rhode Island Food Policy Council Building a more just and resilient food system for all Rhode Islanders. Independent, 501c3

We envision a day when Rhode Island’s food system will be a national model because of the strength of its local food system and its success at achieving community food security and optimal public health. We envision a Rhode Island where safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food is accessible and affordable in every RI community, and in which an increasing proportion of the state’s food sup

ply is raised, caught and processed locally. We envision a Rhode Island in which the local food system is a growing component of the state’s economy, a connecting framework for stakeholders across multiple sectors (production, distribution, access, public health, and resource recycling), and a creator of new jobs and cottage industries that contributes to the State’s long-term economic viability.

Finishing our spring intern appreciation, we want to thank Jenna Shannon, a current student, who spent this past acade...
06/02/2026

Finishing our spring intern appreciation, we want to thank Jenna Shannon, a current student, who spent this past academic year with us as our fundraising research intern! Jenna played a key role in researching and helping us apply for a host of different opportunities. This included evaluating grant opportunities, helping us prepare letters of intent and applications. 2025 was a tough year for many nonprofits, RIFPC included, so this was a great time to have her on board to help us enter and move through 2026 in a much better place. Thanks again to Jenna and all our spring interns!

Continuing to thank our spring interns, we want to thank Kaylie Hanisak our Compost Awareness fellow. A recent graduate ...
05/29/2026

Continuing to thank our spring interns, we want to thank Kaylie Hanisak our Compost Awareness fellow. A recent graduate of the Brown University Urban Education program, Kaylie spent a year with us as part of her academic studies, primarily working on boosting education and awareness of composting. You may have seen her featured recently as we dropped off postcards at the Statehouse on behalf of International Compost Awareness Week for legislators educating them on how they might support composting, but that was just one part of the project! This included creating composting presentations suitable for students of all ages (K-12), outreach to educators, and presentations in classrooms across the state. Kaylie also did a great job working with our partners like Rhode Island Environmental Education Association - RIEEA RI School Recycling Project, and Food Recovery for RI. Thanks, Kaylie, for all your work!

As we get ready to welcome our summer interns, we wanted to take a moment this week to thank our 3 great spring interns....
05/27/2026

As we get ready to welcome our summer interns, we wanted to take a moment this week to thank our 3 great spring interns. First up is Arybella Thuel. Arybella, who, just graduated from the University of Rhode Island, served as our Compost Data & Policy Intern. In addition to other projects, her primary role was to help us complete the state's first-ever Food Scrap Collection and Processing survey. Working with food scrap haulers, composters, anaerobic digesters, and more, Arybella helped design the survey, which aimed to understand the amount of food scraps being diverted from the landfill by haulers in the state and the amount of food scraps being processed in the state. By understanding this data over time it will let the state know how we're progressing towards our wasted food sustainability goals.

In addition to helping design the survey, her outreach efforts also led us to a nearly 80% response rate.

Thanks to all who were part of this project and to Arybella for her work. Look out for results on this project very soon!

Last week RI celebrated International Compost Awareness week! There were composter led events across the state and the R...
05/12/2026

Last week RI celebrated International Compost Awareness week! There were composter led events across the state and the RI Food Policy Council was excited to get in on the action. On Thursday our Food, Climate and Environment (FCE) Program Director Isaac Bearg and FCE Program intern Kaylie Hanisak went to the state house and delivered postcards to legislators from students across the state on why composting is important to them.

Then on Friday we took part in the closing celebration at Farm Fresh Rhode Island. Thanks to all those who led this week long celebration including Epic Renewal Harvest Cycle Compost Bootstrap Compost Zero Waste Providence Care Farm Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District Northern RI Conservation District CET: Resilient Climate Solutions URI Cooperative Extension School Recycling Project and many more. Comment Compost below if you want to know how to keep touch on all things compost and food waste related in RI.

How do RI food producers and food security organizations share information and resources? How do we make sure every one ...
05/08/2026

How do RI food producers and food security organizations share information and resources? How do we make sure every one of our neighbors can get fresh, high quality food?
Through Rhody Feeding Rhody!

Join RIFPC and at our Spring meeting
May 13th 1:00-2:30 pm
Join us at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83758443818

Did you know? RIFPC hosts a monthly lunchtime chat with experienced food policy advocates, where you can hear about all ...
05/06/2026

Did you know? RIFPC hosts a monthly lunchtime chat with experienced food policy advocates, where you can hear about all the latest developments at the RI State House.

Join us for the next Policy Cafe!
When: Tuesday May 12th at noon
Where: Via Zoom -link in our bio

Did you know this week is International Compost Awareness Week? At the Food Policy Council, we're strong advocates for c...
05/04/2026

Did you know this week is International Compost Awareness Week?

At the Food Policy Council, we're strong advocates for composting in RI for many reasons. When we eliminate food scraps from the landfill\ we save our fellow taxpayers a lot of money over time and reduce harmful methane emissions. When we turn it into compost we create a product that helps create more nutrient-dense foods, absorbs more water into the soil helping with both flooding AND droughts.

That's why we are especially excited that the RI compost community has put together a week's worth of fantastic events from Westerly to Providence for ICAW, including our closing celebration at on Friday. Check out the full calendar of events and join us!

www.epicrenewal.org/lrcw

RIFPC is growing! Welcome Abbey and Phoenix to the team!Abbey (she/her) joins as our Operations Manager — food pantry vo...
04/29/2026

RIFPC is growing! Welcome Abbey and Phoenix to the team!

Abbey (she/her) joins as our Operations Manager — food pantry volunteer turned food justice pro, home cappuccino enthusiast, and currently deciding if the Lessons in Chemistry show lives up to the book. ☕

Phoenix (they/them) joins as our Facilitator & Education Manager — 20 years of policy and advocacy experience, Providence LGBTQIA+ Open Mic host, and firm believer that farm-to-food-truck deserves way more hype. 🎙️

We are so lucky to have them. Please give them a warm welcome! 💚



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The 2026 SEMAP Local Food Guide is in the works — and we want Rhode Island farmers in it!Every year the Southeastern Mas...
04/28/2026

The 2026 SEMAP Local Food Guide is in the works — and we want Rhode Island farmers in it!

Every year the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership publishes 12,000 copies of the Local Food Guide, a regional roadmap connecting people across SE Massachusetts and Rhode Island with the local farms, farmers' markets, grocers, breweries, and so much more that make our communities special. From fresh produce and pasture-raised meats to hand-crafted cheese, locally caught seafood, and flowers — the Guide helps people find it all.

🙋 Are you a RI farmer? Getting listed is **free**, takes about **5 minutes**, and you don't even need to be a SEMAP member to sign up.

Here's how: ✅ Visit semaponline.org ✅ Go to Farmer Resources ✅ Click "Update Food Guide Listing"

Once your profile is submitted, we'll add your farm to the Rhode Island section — and send you copies when they're printed!

Questions? Reach out [email protected]

Have a great season — we hope to see you in the Guide!

is back — and this time we're talking Beef Sampusa. 🥟Marie Mukabahizi & family are bringing us into their kitchen with...
04/27/2026

is back — and this time we're talking Beef Sampusa. 🥟

Marie Mukabahizi & family are bringing us into their kitchen with a recipe straight from Sankofa's own cookbook. Golden, crispy, stuffed with flavor — and the kind of food that makes a room feel like home the moment it hits the table.

Turns out, that feeling is backed by science. The 2025 World Happiness Report looked at 142 countries and found something simple but powerful: the more often people share meals, the higher they rate their lives. Sharing food predicts life satisfaction almost as strongly as income. Communities across the country already know this — in small Ohio towns, in Maine living rooms, in Olympia backyards — people are pulling up chairs and passing the bread. Rhode Island's communities have been doing it all along, one recipe at a time.

We're just here to share them. 🙌

What's the dish in your family that everyone requests? Drop it below. 👇

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82 Smith St
Providence, RI
02903

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