University of New Hampshire
Office of Sustainability
107 Nesmith Hall
131 Main Street
Durham, NH 03824

WHAT: Statewide Caucus on the New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future
WHEN: Thursday, June 1st, 2006, 1-4 p.m.
WHERE: NH Audubon, Concord (directions are enclosed)

Refreshments will be provided.

The purpose of these regional meetings was to identify the role and priorities of the New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future and inform the development of a strategic plan for the
center. The caucus will provide another opportunity for your input into the strategic plan for the Center. It will also allow you to hear what your colleagues from across the state believe are critical priorities for the Center to address.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Elisabeth Farrell, Program Coordinator, El.Farrell@unh.edu or 862-5040. For general information on food security, please visit
www.foodsecurity.org.

Please RSVP to Elisabeth Farrell at the above phone number or
email as soon as possible and no later than May 25th. If you cannot attend but would like to send a colleague in your place, please feel free to do so.

We hope you will join us!

Your sponsors,
University of New Hampshire
UNH Cooperative Extension
UNH Dept. of Animal & Nutritional Sciences
UNH Office of Sustainability
UNH Dept. of Natural Resources
UNH Hospitality Services
UNH Campus Planning
Timberland
NH Stories, Inc.
Con-Val Food Service
NH Food Bank
Frisbee Memorial Hospital
CINEMAR/CICEET
NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company
NH Dept. of Education
NH Dept. of Health & Human Services
North Country Resource Conservation &
Development Council
NH Surplus Distribution

NH Center for a Food Secure Future
Strategic Planning Committee
? Celina Adams, Timberland
? Nancy Berliner, Rural Development Consultant
? Lynda Brushett, Niche Marketing
? Juli Brussell, UNH Cooperative Extension
? Joanne Burke, UNH Dept. of Animal & Nutritional Sciences
? Tyra Byers, UNH Office of Sustainability
? John Carroll, UNH Dept. of Natural Resources
? Helen Costello, UNH Cooperative Extension
? Joanne Curran-Celentano, UNH Dept. of Animal & Nutritional Sciences
? Rick DeMark, North Country Resource Conservation & Development Council
? Ann Driscoll, Ann Driscoll Training & Development
? Elisabeth Farrell, UNH Office of Sustainability
? Laurie Ferguson, NH Stories, Inc.
? Tony Geraci, Con-Val Food Service
? Melanie Gosselin, NH Food Bank
? Andrea Jackson, Frisbee Memorial Hospital
? Tim Jackson, Frisbee Memorial Hospital
? Tom Kelly, UNH Office of Sustainability
? Richard Langan, CINEMAR/CICEET
? Valerie Long, UNH Cooperative Extension
? Rick MacDonald, UNH Hospitality Services
? Robert McGrath, UNH Dept. of Health Management & Policy
? Gail McWilliam Jellie, NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food
? Deb Miller, NH Surplus Distribution
? Steve Pesci, UNH Campus Planning
? Lisa Richards, NH Dept. of Health & Human Services
? Karen Ryan, NH Dept. of Education
? Chuck Schwab, UNH Dept. of Animal & Nutritional Sciences
? Mike Sciabarrasi, UNH Cooperative Extension
? Kristina Stefanski, Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, LLC
? David Small, Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, LLC
? Elaine VanDyke, Dept. of Education

Directions
New Hampshire Audubon
3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH
224-9909

From Durham/Seacoast: Take Route 4 West. Merge onto I-393 W. Merge
onto I-93 S toward I-
89 / Manchester / Lebanon. Merge onto I-89 N toward Lebanon /White
River Junction, VT. Take
Exit 2 / RT-13 / Clinton St. toward Concord. Turn left onto Clinton
St. / NH-13. Turn right onto
Silk Farm Rd.

From Manchester area: Merge onto I-93 N (Portions toll). Merge onto
I-89 N toward
Lebanon/White River Jct VT. Take the RT-13/Clinton St/Exit 2 toward
Concord. Turn Left onto
Clinton St./NH-13. Turn Right onto Silk Farm Rd.

From Berlin area: Take Route 16 S. Merge onto I-93 S. Merge onto I-89 N
toward
Lebanon/White River Jct. VT. Take RT-13/Clinton St/Exit 2 toward
Concord. Turn Left onto
Clinton St./NH-13. Turn Right onto Silk Farm Rd.

From Keene area: Follow NH-9. Merge onto I-89 S. Take the RT-13 /
Clinton St/Exit 2 toward
Concord. Take the RT-13 S / Clinton St. ramp toward Dunbarton. Turn
left onto Clinton St /
NH-13. Turn right onto Silk Farm Rd.

From Lebanon area: Take NH-120. Merge onto I-89 S. Take the RT-13 /
Clinton St/Exit 2
toward Concord. Take the RT-13 S / Clinton St. ramp toward Dunbarton.
Turn left onto Clinton
St / NH-13. Turn right onto Silk Farm Rd.
Directions adapted from http://www.mapquest.com

NH Center for a Food Secure Future Regional Input Meetings
Summary of Major Findings
March ? May 2006
The following represents the major findings gathered from the regional
input meetings.
Additional findings have been recorded and will be included in the
strategic planning
committee?s final assessment of the center?s role and priorities.

1 A. What are the forces for a food secure future in your community
(from
farming to the food environment to health and nutrition issues)?
? Increasing interest in health and nutrition, local and organic
(people are ready for
change) (both consumer and retailer)
? Increasing price of gasoline/ energy (make local foods more
competitive).
? Existing programs (cooperative extension, USDA, farm to school, food
stamps,etc.)
? Increase in farmers markets, (food stands and CSA?s)

1 B. What are the forces against a food secure future in your community?
? New Hampshire climate (short growing season)
? Expectation/ consumer demand for year round food from around the world
? Availability/culture of cheap food (cheap food system/ policy)
? Lack of processing and storage in New Hampshire
? Inadequate funding for existing programs
? Fragmentation of existing programs
? Inadequate education
? Increasing property value/ cost of land
? Loss of agricultural land to housing development
? High cost of healthy food
? Convenience food lifestyle
? Lack of food preparation skills
? Current commodity support programs (federal priorities and policies)
? Global food market
? Lack of processing facilities
? Extensive marketing of fast food and limited advertising of organic
and local
? System requires institutions to buy the cheapest food

2. What could the center do to strengthen forces for food security?
? Education
? Serve as a clearinghouse for data and resources
? Advocacy for policy (agricultural, food stamp, voluntary local first
etc.)
? Promote local processing and marketing
? Encourage cross-curricular/ agency communication and collaboration
? Teach business skills, marketing to farmers
? Promote land conservation
? Conduct research
? Issue report card

3. How could the Center help you be more effective doing your part to
advance a food secure future?
? Education
? Center as a resource for reliable tools and data (information
clearinghouse)
? Research/ report card
? Increase communication
? Provide expertise
? Bridge gaps/ interagency meetings/ be link between groups / assist in
collaborative efforts
? Disseminate information
? Link farmers and institutions

4. Anything else?
? Food security = homeland security
? Find ways to get people and resources together
? Need to fill data gaps
? Keep things simple

NH Center for a Food Secure Future
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

Program Mission
Develop a strategic plan for the NH Center for a Food Secure Future
that will guide its
development as a coordinating entity to monitor and assess New
Hampshire?s food system
while developing integrated, systemic approaches to strengthen and
sustain ongoing food
security and nutrition efforts in the state.
G
oals
1. To unite a diverse range of food security stakeholders from
throughout the state and
across the food system around a clear purpose and set of expectations
for the
Center;
2. To strengthen and formalize collaborations among public, non-profit
and private
sector practitioners and UNH faculty, staff and programs related to
food security and
nutrition;
3. To determine specific quantitative and qualitative indicators of
food security and
nutrition in New Hampshire;
4. To identify approaches for gathering and publishing data that
supports coordinated,
evidence-based interventions and policies to improve the state and
region?s longterm
food security and nutrition status.

Audiences
? Agriculture, aquaculture, fishery and land conservation groups:
Representative
sectors and organizations may include farmers, NH Association of
Farmers? Markets,
Northeast Organic Farming Association, NH Department of Agriculture,
the Society for
the Protection of NH Forests, the Audubon Society, NH Farm Bureau, NH
Producer
Organizations (maple, fruit, etc.), water quality organizations
? Food environment groups: Representative organizations may include the
NH Grocers?
Association, NH school systems, National Association of College &
University Food
Services, Food Service Organizations, Restaurant Associations, food
distributors,
people who transport food, NH Organization of Municipalities
? Nutrition and Health groups: Representative organizations may include
colleges &
universities, school nutrition associations, state & federal public
health nutrition
programs & partner agencies, AARP chapters, hospitals, the NH Dietetic
Association,
NH Healthy Schools Coalition, and regional public health and nutrition
offices
Intended Outcomes
1. Stakeholders from throughout the state and across the food system
prioritize and
advocate for the importance of assuring a food secure future for the
citizens of New
Hampshire.
2. Input gathered from stakeholders informs a clear and comprehensive
strategic plan for
the NHCFS while building a broad sense of ownership in and support for
the Center.
3. Diverse stakeholders recognize ways in which they can collaborate
to strengthen food
security and nutrition goals.

Strategic Planning Activities

Regional Input Meetings: The NH Center for a Food Secure Future is
coordinating the
planning and implementation of five regional input meetings March
through May of 2006.
Participants will be charged with prioritizing local and state food
security needs and
opportunities. The meetings will build on existing scientific and
policy analysis, as well as
existing recommendations, such as the 1979 NH Food Policy Report.

The 2006 NH Food Security Caucus: The caucus will be held early summer.
The priorities
and indicators identified by the regional focus groups and data
analysis will be used to develop
the strategic plan. The planning process itself will raise public and
policy maker awareness of
the need for and purpose of the Center. Target participants will be
agency, policy, private
sector, municipal leaders and participants of the regional input
meetings. The strategic planning
committee will follow-up with the development of a strategic plan for
the Center.

The New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future: In 2005, funding was
awarded to the
Office of Sustainability, the Department of Animal and Nutritional
Sciences and New Hampshire
Cooperative Extension to conduct a comprehensive, stakeholder-focused
planning process to
inform development of the Center. Planning reflects a systemic
approach encompassing state
and regional agriculture, food distribution, marketing and other
access issues as well as nutrition
and population health outcomes and interventions.

Strategic Planning Committee Institutional Representation
University of New Hampshire
UNH Cooperative Extension
UNH Dept. of Animal & Nutritional Sciences
UNH Office of Sustainability
UNH Dept. of Natural Resources
UNH Hospitality Services
UNH Campus Planning
Timberland
NH Stories, Inc.
Con-Val Food Service
NH Food Bank
Frisbee Memorial Hospital
CINEMAR/CICEET
NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company
NH Dept. of Education
NH Dept. of Health & Human Services
North Country Resource Conservation &
Development Council
NH Surplus Distribution