North Country Regional Foods Initiative

The North Country Regional Foods Initiative is a project of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and the Economic Development Administration University Center at Cornell’s Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI).

Through this one-year grant of federal funding, this project aims to:

• Measure the economic and community impacts of local food initiatives in the North Country.
• Link Cooperative Extension, non-governmental organizations and farmer-based groups currently working on direct marketing approaches, and identify the strengths and barriers they face in their work.
• Share these impacts, strengths, and barriers with local government officials, economic developers and community leaders across the region to develop joint plans for expanding and enhancing local food efforts.
• Solicit training needs and offer educational opportunities to address them, along with the identified barriers to local food efforts.
• Explore possibilities for a regional network and funding to support it, so as to continue this work after the one year is over.

Click here to learn more.