Innovation Ecosystem

The local farmer still feeds us all, even in a pandemic

Farm Fresh RI hosts its winter farmers market at its new facility

Photo by Richard Asinof

Fresh produce on display at the farmers market at the new Farm Fresh RI facility in Providence.

Photo by Richard Asinof

A local grower with the African Alliance of Rhode Island displays the produce at the Farm Fresh RI winter farmers market

Photo by Richard Asinof

Shoppers at the winter farmers market at the new Farm Fresh Rhode Island facility.

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By Richard Asinof
Posted 11/16/20
Farm Fresh RI opened its new warehouse and farmers market facility in Providence, attracting a steady but cautious stream of shoppers who observed all the proper metrics in a pandemic.
Is there an opportunity to expand programs that provide access to local fruits and vegetables as a “medical prescription” for families in neighborhoods hard hit by the pandemic? How does the conversation of fresh water resources fit into the priorities for addressing climate change prevention activities, particularly during the current drought? Could virtual cooking classes become part of the ongoing educational curriculum offered to schoolchildren in Rhode Island, with a focus on how to prepare healthy, nutritious meals, perhaps taught by local chefs?
This year, as it becomes necessary to downsize plans for holiday gatherings around Thanksgiving as a precautionary measure to protect against the community spread of the coronavirus, what new traditions can be developed? Perhaps there is a way to learn how to prepare new recipes on the grill? Or, a Zoom gathering that features recipe swapping which feature senior members of the family sharing stories. Or, even a sing-along with Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant?”

PROVIDENCE – Positive, cautious signs of life, good health, and prosperity in a pandemic could be seen on a sunny Saturday morning, Nov. 14, even as the number in new daily infections from COVID-19 cases surged in Rhode Island.

With new restrictions imposed last week by Gov. Gina Raimondo on the size of gatherings, driven by the increase in hospital rates and the rising ratio of positive test results across the state, there was a careful, steady stream of shoppers that observed all the proper social distancing metrics, engaged in what could be seen as a respectful, cautious, attentive dance of prevention, all the while seeking out fresh fruits and vegetables and farm-raised products.

[It was a much different vibe than what shoppers found at the local Whole Foods Market on South Main Street, where designated worker bees hired for shopping and delivery services often appeared to be engaged in a bumper car rally with other shoppers that had gone in person to pick up groceries.]

All the customers of all ages diligently wore masks at the farmers market [perhaps resembling the inhabitants of the fictional town of Lake Wobegon once imagined by storyteller Garrison Keillor].

Open doors created a brisk circulating airflow, mitigating potential risk at the new hub of the Farm Fresh Rhode Island winter farmers market on Sims Street in the Valley neighborhood along the Woonasquatucket River, just down the road from the Gotham Greens greenhouse that opened a year ago.

The new Farm Fresh RI warehouse facility and farmers market is a major upgrade from the previous site of the Saturday winter farmers market in Pawtucket, with plenty of ample parking with wide spaces and a well-designed pedestrian traffic flow – with many of the familiar farmers and food entrepreneurs featuring their wares, including New Harvest Coffee, Barden Family Orchard, Seven Stars Bakery, and Stone Soup Farmers, among others.

The new 60,000 square-foot facility was underwritten in large part by an $1.9 million impact investment loan that the Rhode Island Foundation made in 2019, which enabled Farm Fresh RI to close on its New Market Tax Credits financing and to begin construction of the warehouse facility that will serve as a location year-round farmers market.

Positive vibrations
The opening of the new Farm Fresh RI facility was one in a series of good news announcements about efforts to connect farmers and customers during this bleak time when the surge in coronavirus pandemic cases has disrupted so much of our lives.

• Food On The Move, an ongoing initiative of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute, recently received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one of 30 Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grants to support the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] by providing incentives at the point of purchase.

• The African Alliance of Rhode Island, as a member of the Southern New England Farmers of Color Collaborative, recently received an award of $280,863 from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The focus of the Collaborative’s work is help support access to healthy food access, racial equity, sustainable farming and fishing activities. The African Alliance of Rhode Island is a regular vendor at the farmers market run by Farm Fresh Rhode Island.

On Saturday morning, one of the local African Alliance of Rhode Island growers was busy packing up brussel sprouts that had been grown at the BAMI Farm in Johnston. [See second image above.]

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