NH Farm to School Workgroup

The NH Farm to School Workgroup is a short-term, time-limited workgroup convened to inform the future direction, priorities, and strategic focus of NH Farm to School as it transitions into its next phase. Over approximately five meetings, the workgroup will gather input from key stakeholders to assess current needs, opportunities, and gaps across education, agriculture, and food systems. Insights from this process will help guide programmatic, policy, and partnership decisions to strengthen farm to school efforts statewide and better support New Hampshire farmers, schools, and communities.

This workgroup is led by:

Laura Alimayu, NH Farm to School Coordinator, UNH Extension
Mike Smith, NH Ag in the Classroom, UNH Extension

The NH Farm to School workgroup will be launched in February 2026. The four meetings of this time limited workgroup are as follows:

February 16, 2026 1:00 to 2:30pm
March 16, 2026 1:00 to 2:30pm
April 20, 2026 1:00 to 2:30pm
May 18, 2026 1:00 to 2:30pm

If you are interested in joining this workgroup, please fill out the form linked below.

JOIN THE WORKGROUP

Status

Brief Topic

Type of Action

Goals & Tags

Keyword

Recommendation	Status	Brief Topic	Type of Action
Provide farms and food businesses financial incentives through state policy Develop state policy that provides farms and food businesses with tax exemptions and abatements, start-up funds and incentives, business technical… Goals & Tags: State Agencies, Farm, Fish, or Food Business, State/NH, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability	Not Started	Access to Capital	Investment/Funding, Policy/Regulation
Increase flexible lending practices and policies for farms and food businesses Bring together public and private financiers to instill more flexibility in lending practices and policies for farms and food businesses. Goals & Tags: Farm, Fish, or Food Business, State/NH, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability	Not Started	Access to Capital	Coordination/Network development or support, Investment/Funding
Conduct research to demonstrate the investment value of the food system Unlock public and private financing and investment by supporting research that details the state and value of the New Hampshire food system through… Goals & Tags: State/NH, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability	Not Started	Access to Capital	Investment/Funding, Research/Study
Produce consumer marketing to promote local food as a community issue This marketing should emphasize the benefits of local food to personal health, local economies, the quality and freshness of local products, and the… Goals & Tags: State Agencies, Nonprofits, State/NH, (goal) Local Food Economy	Not Started	Restaurants	Program creation, support, or expansion
Analyze and develop a distribution system for New Hampshire food products Conduct a distribution analysis to identify existing infrastructure and distribution routes in the state and identify opportunities for further… Goals & Tags: Nonprofits, State Agencies, Farm, Fish, or Food Business, State/NH, (goal) Local Food Economy	Not Started	Restaurants	Coordination/Network development or support, Research/Study
Host annual local sourcing educational match-making events for restaurants and farms Fund the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food and a non-profit partner to design and host annual educational and matchmaking events around… Goals & Tags: NH Dept of Agriculture, Markets, and Food, Nonprofits, Farm, Fish, or Food Business, State/NH, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability, (goal) Local Food Economy	Not Started	Restaurants	Program creation, support, or expansion, Coordination/Network development or support, Investment/Funding
Create a wholesale farm-to-restaurant website and communication system Create a central website and communication system for wholesale farm-to-restaurant sales that displays farm location, product availability and… Goals & Tags: Farm, Fish, or Food Business, Nonprofits, State/NH, (goal) Local Food Economy, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability	Not Started	Restaurants	Resource/tool creation, support or expansion, Coordination/Network development or support
Create an advisory board to increase restaurants sourcing local ingredients Create an advisory board or legislative commission, housed in the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food, to support and advocate for… Goals & Tags: Farm, Fish, or Food Business, NH Dept of Agriculture, Markets, and Food, State Agencies, State/NH, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability, (goal) Local Food Economy	Not Started	Restaurants	Program creation, support, or expansion, Policy/Regulation
Pass legislation that subsidizes purchases of local food by New Hampshire schools Pass an ongoing, permanent Local Food for Local Schools Purchasing Incentive Pilot Program that subsidizes purchases of local food by New Hampshire… Goals & Tags: Schools or Institutions, Farm, Fish, or Food Business, State Agencies, Technical Assistance Providers, State/NH, (goal) Nutrition and Access, (goal) Local Food Economy	Not Started	Institutional Markets	Program creation, support, or expansion, Policy/Regulation
Support and fund wholesale-readiness technical assistance and infrastructure Support New Hampshire farmers and food hubs interested in reaching wholesale and institutional markets through targeted wholesale- readiness… Goals & Tags: Technical Assistance Providers, Nonprofits, Farm, Fish, or Food Business, Schools or Institutions, State/NH, (goal) Farm, Fish, and Food Business Viability	Not Started	Institutional Markets	Program creation, support, or expansion, Investment/Funding

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NH Farm to School Workgroup

Recommendations of interest to this workgroup

NH Food Alliance