Feeding Rhode Islanders
Rhode Island is home to a vibrant immigrant community and a dynamic commercial fishing industry. As is the case in even conventional circumstances, immigrant communities, people of color, and low-income families disproportionately experienced food insecurity in 2020. Meanwhile, the commercial fishing industry also experienced unique challenges as a result of COVID-19. The closure or reduced flow in many of the supply chains that local seafood typically was sold through left fishermen with much-reduced market demand. These factors, combined with the fact that Rhode Island’s vibrant immigrant and Indigenous communities already knew how to take whole, unprocessed fish and shellfish and turn it into delicious meals, presented an opportunity. We established this program with support from Eating with the Ecosystem, and the Rhode Island Food Policy Council to purchase seafood that had limited markets or was being thrown away as bycatch and began distributing it free to communities in need who already hold the cultural knowledge of handling these fresh species.
While this program was originally conceived to meet emergency response needs, it has now become something bigger. The emergency food system is now evolving into a brand new market channel for the fishing community, enabling them to receive a fair price for normally underutilized species and species that would otherwise become bycatch. This new market channel increases the resiliency of Rhode Island’s fisheries community and food network. The Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island began the Seafood Distribution Program in late August 2020 and since has distributed around 380,000lbs of fresh local seafood. We estimate that through this program, over 250,000 healthy meals have been provided to families for free throughout Rhode Island. This program has been successful thanks to a collaboration of many partners and supporters.
While this program was originally conceived to meet emergency response needs, it has now become something bigger. The emergency food system is now evolving into a brand new market channel for the fishing community, enabling them to receive a fair price for normally underutilized species and species that would otherwise become bycatch. This new market channel increases the resiliency of Rhode Island’s fisheries community and food network. The Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island began the Seafood Distribution Program in late August 2020 and since has distributed around 380,000lbs of fresh local seafood. We estimate that through this program, over 250,000 healthy meals have been provided to families for free throughout Rhode Island. This program has been successful thanks to a collaboration of many partners and supporters.
Thank you to all of our program funders and partners for helping to make this program possible
|
Program Partners:
|
Program Funders:
|
The new Rhody Feeding Rhody Alliance is calling for members! The Alliance works with RI emergency food buyers & producers to build and grow a reliable market for sellers, and connect that food with local residents in need. Join us! There’s room for everyone at the table: http://www.rhodyfeedingrhody.org
Seafood Donation Celebration
On Saturday, September 10th CFCRI was joined by our essential partners and the community to celebrate our new cold storage unit at Farm Fresh RI in Providence. We will be able to distribute 3,000 - 5,000 pounds of fresh fish every week for hunger relief. Farm Fresh RI, Move For Hunger, Eating With the Ecosystem, and UnFi Foundation were all key partnerships who contributed to this venture. We enjoyed Brown Butter Monkfish Rolls prepared by Andrew McQuesten and freshly shucked oysters to end the day. Plaques of recognition were presented to Adam Lowy and Jackie Godlewski from Move For Hunger, Jenny Pereira and Inés Merchán from Rhode Island Foundation, Amanda Cantrell from Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Jesse Rye from Farm Fresh, and Peg and Jeff Parker from Strategic Help Initiative. We are grateful for their donations to this program.
Cook a Fish, Give a Fish
Sharpen your knives and your cooking skills with “Cook a Fish, Give a Fish!” - a new program designed to connect Rhode Islanders with the fish caught in their backyard, the local fishing community, and each other! Sign up for a virtual seafood class, where a talented local chef will show you how to prepare and cook a fish that was caught not too far from your home! the profits from these classes go directly toward the CFCRI seafood donation program to donate seafood to Rhode Island families who need food assistance during the pandemic.
