DURHAM, N.H. - A new grant from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation of Boston will help New England build its capacity to feed itself. The Kendall Foundation board announced today it has awarded Food Solutions New England (FSNE), an initiative of the Sustainability Institute at the University of New Hampshire, $185,000 to further its regional food system work. The funding will support a year-long design process that will strengthen collaboration and collective impact of the FSNE network across New England. The aim of the network is to build the region's capacity to produce a significant percentage of sustainable food for all New Englanders by 2060.

"We have reached a unique juncture in the evolution of the New England food system, and the Henry P. Kendall Foundation is taking an innovative leadership role to help move us forward," says Joanne Burke, faculty director of FSNE, clinical associate professor of nutrition, director of the UNH dietetic internship program and a faculty fellow at the Sustainability Institute.

"The future of New England's food system is central to sustaining our unique landscape and quality of life," says Tom Kelly, UNH chief sustainability officer. "One of the most critical and challenging steps in long-term food system sustainability is building a shared agenda across diverse stakeholders that make up our food system from farm and fishery to cuisine and plate to nutritional public health."

Food Solutions New England is a regional food systems learning-action network dedicated to advancing a sustainable New England food system. FSNE is organized around four interrelated activities: development of a New England food vision; New England state food planning initiatives; annual New England food summits and topical workshops; and related analysis, communication and visualization. Learn more at www.foodsolutionsne.org.

Such sustainable food system work is a key component of the Sustainability Institute at UNH. Sustainability is a core value of UNH, shaping culture, informing behavior, and guiding work. As a nationally recognized leader, the Sustainability Institute acts as convener, cultivator and champion of sustainability on campus, in the state and region, and around the world. Learn more at www.sustainableunh.unh.edu.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 11,800 undergraduate and 2,400 graduate students.

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Caption: Food Solutions New England, a regional food systems learning-action network at the Sustainability Institute at UNH, received Henry P. Kendall Foundation funding to help advance New England's capacity to provide citizens with food that is "clean, just, fair, and accessible." -30-