Tomorrow's RI Local Food Forum: Congresswoman + Farmer @ChelliePingree to headline Farm Bill talk
Author of Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act and Maine farmer in Providence on Tuesday
About Congresswoman Chellie Pingree: After graduating from College of the Atlantic in the 1970s, she and her husband started a small farm on the island of North Haven. A knitting business she started in the early 80s soon grew to ten year round employees producing knitting kits and books that were sold in hundreds of stores across the country. She was elected to the Maine Senate in 1992 and after serving four terms—two as Senate Majority Leader—went on to become the national President of Common Cause.
In 2008 Chellie Pingree was elected to Congress to serve Maine’s 1st District. As a member of the Agriculture Committee she is becoming a national voice for local, sustainable farming.
About the Farm Bill: Every 5 years a new Farm Bill passes through Congress and reshapes our food and our agriculture. It includes programs like SNAP, commodity subsidies, WIC, conservation programs, community food projects and more. Currently, in the $288 billion 2008 Farm Bill, the budget for local farms and foods might as well be a rounding error. But there’s an opportunity: the 2012 Farm Bill is currently being crafted!
The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act provides for the inclusion of local and regional farm and food systems in the federal Farm Bill. This legislation will help farmers and ranchers engaged in local and regional agriculture by addressing production, aggregation, processing, marketing, and distribution needs and will also assist consumers by improving access to healthy food and direct and retail markets. And of utmost importance, this legislation will provide more secure funding for critically important programs that support family farms, expand new farming opportunities, and invest in the local agriculture economy.
The 8th RI Local Food Forum begins with a welcome by RI DEM Director Janet Coit, Division of Agriculture Chief Ken Ayars and Farm Fresh RI Director Noah Fulmer.
Following Congresswoman Pingree will be a Town Hall panel on the Farm Bill featuring Annette Higby (Policy Director, New England Farmers Union), Cris Coffin (New England Director, American Farmland Trust), Jonathon Dworkin (Communications Director, Congressman Langevin) and Tess Brown-Lavoie (Farmer, Sidewalk Ends Farm).
Sponsors include:
