This year, the Connecticut College Office of Sustainability has partnered with the New London County Food Policy Council (NLCFPC), hiring student fellows to help implement the plans of the Council. NLCFPC works to reduce food insecurity, improve diet-related health, and expand the viability of local agriculture throughout New London county. There are fellows working in five different areas to accomplish these goals. Each fellow works with community partners, allowing the fellows to make real connections with the community at large and to make lasting impacts.

The Emergency and Supplemental Food Systems Fellow, Ariana Pazmino ’18, and the Food Insecurity Fellow, Emma Galante ’15, work together to increase access to sustainable food in the county. Ariana collaborates with the Gemma E. Moran Food Center and Emma focuses on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)/WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) benefits. The Nutrition Education Fellow, Paige Ziplow ’15, meets with the Farm to School coordinator in the county to develop high school level workshops for students on sustainable food as well as curriculum for preschoolers and their parents and teachers at the Connecticut College Children’s Program in coordination with the Holleran Center. Eleanor Hardy ’15, the Policy Fellow, concentrates on implementing policy changes that affect the food system within the county and its residents. The final area of focus is on a food hub. The Council received a grant from the USDA to conduct a food hub feasibility study in the county, so the Food Hub Fellows, Wesley Conner ’17 and Brent Lo ’16, are searching for a consultant group to hire in order to complete that study.

As the Senior Fellow on the project, I oversee all of the work of the fellows, in collaboration with Josh Stoffel, Sustainability Officer at the College. Everyone is extremely excited about the impact this project can have on the county as well as the opportunities for community engagement!