✂️ With so much content, this email may get clipped! Look for a link at the bottom for the full edition.✂️
National Farm to Cafeteria Conference
This December, join FINE and so many others at the 10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Hosted by the National Farm to School Network, this conference will be a powerful gathering of food systems and farm to institution leaders across the country. Come say hi to FINE's Dana Stevens and Hannah Leighton who will be attending and exhibiting, along with partners from FINE's Rooted in Community Project.
With a special blend of workshops, presentations, intensive courses, and field trips, the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference will be a unique experience that goes beyond the conference room. Join us in Albuquerque!
⭐️ 10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference ⭐️ December 1-4, 2025 ⭐️ Albuquerque, New Mexico
Special for FINE Print readers: discount codes for up to $200 off your registration!
🌱$200 Off Registration
Limited financial resources: Your organization has a budget under $1 million, has fewer than 10 paid staff, and has no or minimal dedicated funds for professional development. This larger discount is offered in solidarity with small, community-based organizations doing powerful work with fewer resources. Use code: FINE200off
🌱$100 Off Registration
Moderate financial capacity: Your organization has a budget between $1 million and $5 million, has fewer than 50 paid staff, and has some dedicated funds for professional development. This code helps offset registration costs while honoring your organization’s relative capacity. Use code: FINE100off
Second round of giving this year: Deadline September 12
The Henry P. Kendall Foundation has announced it will award up to $1.5 million to projects that build resilience, relationships, and capacity within New England’s educational institution food supply chain. The Prize will support new ideas and collaborations, while also safeguarding and supporting existing efforts. This year’s Prize aims to fortify recent progress and ensure that the region’s students, farmers, fishermen, and producers continue to benefit from farm to school and campus programs. The structure and focus of this year's program has been modified in response to the recent federal funding cuts and the related impacts to the regional food system. Prize awards will range from $25k - $100k.
Do you have a seed of an idea but need to talk it out? Are you looking for partners? Are you wondering whether your organization or idea fits this program? FINE is available to support you: tania@farmtoinstitution.org .
Civil Eats has compiled a single source for actions taken by the President, federal agencies, and Congress that directly relate to or have significant implications for the food system. Recent updates include:
EPA Scraps Rules to Curb Pollution from Meat and Poultry Plants (9/2/25)
The USDA has extended the deadline for public comments on its reorganization plan (9/2/25)
Grounding School Food Service in Culture and Place: A Rooted in Community Case Study
Recently, Westbrook, Maine schools transformed their annual food service orientation into a day of hands-on learning rooted in community, culture, and local food. FINE's Hannah Leighton joined Westbrook staff as they toured Jordan’s Farm, harvested produce, cooked together at Fork Food Lab, and received training on preparing Halal meals to better serve their diverse student body. The experience deepened staff knowledge of local food systems and cultural inclusion and strengthened team cohesion. Westbrook schools are not only feeding students—they are nourishing belonging, dignity, and health. As more districts explore creative pathways toward food justice, this model offers a replicable blueprint grounded in relationships and joy.
Getting Produce into Vermont Prisons? It Takes Creative Food Processing
by guest author Martha Machia, Salvation Farms
A recent workshop by Salvation Farms at the Northeast Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury, VT brought food processing technical assistance to the foodservice supervisors at the Vermont Department of Corrections. The workshop was part of the Vermont Farm to Prison Project, an ongoing collaboration supported by FINE and funded by the Vermont Association of Agriculture, Food and Markets. This project brings together key partners such as the Vermont Department of Corrections, food hubs including Green Mountain Farm Direct and Food Connects, and processors like Salvation Farms. Read more about how small equipment upgrades and shifts in processing is allowing more produce to be served at Vermont prisons. If you are a Vermont farmer or producer interested in selling to VT DOC, contact FINE's Program Manager Britt Florio to set up a conversation: Brittany@farmtoinstitution.org.
By: Leslie Soble, Alex Busansky, and Aishatu R. Yusuf
Building on Impact Justice’s first-ever national examination of food in prison, this new landmark book digs even deeper into America’s hidden “food deserts,” where hunger and malnourishment coexist with shocking levels of food waste and devastating health outcomes. At once an examination of our nation’s most overlooked food system and a determined portrait of what it will take to transform it, Eating Behind Bars explores what might be possible when we bring everyone to the table. Pre-order your copy today.
👇 F2i Funding, Careers & Events 👇
Email sarah@farmtoinstitution.org to include your F2i funding, job, or event here.
Your Plan, Our Plan: Moving Forward the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan | | Noon - 1 pm ET | Virtual | Join the NH Food Alliance team during the September Network Café for an overview of the structure of Strategic Plan implementation and to learn about the various roles everyone can and will play in the process. Following the presentation and Q&A, we will dive into a lively discussion about work that has already begun on Strategic Plan recommendations to help you consider how you might get involved.
The Big E |
-
| West Springfield, MA | The Big E, or the Eastern States Exposition, is a 17-day annual fair featuring agriculture, entertainment, and exhibits.
Rooted Together: A Fall Gathering for Farm-Based Educators |
-
| Woodbridge, CT | Gather with fellow farm-based educators at this unique professional learning event, designed and delivered by FBEN program alumni. Over two and a half days, you’ll experience a tour at Massaro Community Farm (with many school field trip elements!), inquire into the importance of rewilding with the EcoType project, visit Common Ground Urban Farm in New Haven, take part in favorite farm-based education activities with experienced educators, and enjoy an unforgettable tidal foraging expedition and meal of undervalued, “invasive” plants with Miya’s Sushi.
Farm Aid 40 | | Minneapolis, MN | Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on the land. Farm Aid has raised nearly $80 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. Farm Aid is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America.
Women Who Inspire Networking Event Fall 2025 | | 6:30 pm ET | Newton, MA | A networking event bringing together women in the fields of food and farming. Guest speaker Elle Simone Scott, SheChef Inc; with plenty of free time to meet, chat, exchange ideas and enjoy a light dinner.
Black Farmers & Urban Gardeners (BUGS) Conference 2025 |
-
| Detroit, MI | The BUGs conference is dedicated to urban farming, food justice, and sustainable agriculture, and an opportunity to connect with a diverse network of industry experts, including urban farmers, community gardeners, and food justice advocates. Attendees will explore innovative practices in urban agriculture, share knowledge about sustainable food systems, and discuss strategies for promoting food justice in our communities.
Food and Democracy: From Policy to Plate – Food Law Student Leadership Summit 2025 |
-
| Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA | For a decade, the Food Law Student Leadership Summit has been the premier conference for law students with a shared passion for improving our food and agricultural systems. This year’s milestone Summit, Food and Democracy: From Policy to Plate, will zoom in on the intersection of food and democracy, and the panel series and reception on Friday evening will be open to the public.
Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network Summit | | Colby College, Waterville, Maine | This one-day gathering brings together leaders, practitioners, and advocates from across the local food Maine system—farmers, fishers, food producers, institutional buyers, educators, policymakers, and nonprofit organizations—all working to strengthen the Farm-to-Institution movement in Maine.
Massachusetts Food System Forum 2025 | | Worcester, MA | A gathering of farmers, fishermen, food system advocates, conservation, public health and housing advocates, people with lived experience with food insecurity, legislators, legislative staff, and state agency staff.
Farm to Cafeteria Conference |
-
| Albuquerque, NM | The 10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, hosted by the National Farm to School Network, is the premier event for anyone passionate about bringing local food to institutional settings and driving positive change in the food system. Whether you’re a food service professional, farmer, educator, policymaker, entrepreneur, or student, this conference offers invaluable opportunities to network, learn, and share knowledge with others who are shaping the future of food access and sustainability.
Farm to Institution New England is fiscally sponsored by Third Sector New England, Inc. (TSNE)
Farm to Institution New England (FINE), 89 South Street, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02111
.png?upscale=true&width=1200&upscale=true&name=Join%20FINE%20at%20FarmtoCafConf%20(1).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=1200&upscale=true&name=nefvp-2025%20(1).png)
