One of the goals set by the New England Food Systems Planners Partnership (NEFSPP) is for 30% of all food consumed in New England to have been produced in New England by 2030. In order to identify how that goal can be achieved within six years, the NEFSPP produced its “New England Feeding New England Report,” published in the early summer of 2023. It provides a large amount of information, and the Network Café Series through the New Hampshire Food Alliance recently helped break down the report.
Co-founder and CEO of Northbound Ventures Consulting Holly Fowler presented at the Feb. 2 Network Café to discuss Part 4 of the report, “Understanding Market Channels and Food Expenditures.” In this section, Fowler and her team focused on how our market channels in New England currently have the ability to provide local foods to local markets.
After compiling research on how New Englanders obtain their food, “the trend since 2010 has been that households spent more on food away from home (in restaurants) than they do on food brought to be consumed back home (from grocery stores and farmers markets),” summarized Fowler. However, Maine and New Hampshire are exceptions to this rule, spending more on food in markets and stores than restaurants.
On average, the individual person in the U.S. spends $5,444 on food each year. When this statistic is broken down by state, all six New England states have a higher average than the American average. New Hampshire specifically has the sixth highest average in all of the 50 states.
Although this report does not go into the reasons behind this high average, it is assumed that “food costs more, and New Englanders spend more on food in general,” Fowler said.
In order for those in the region to consume a collective 30% of their food from their corner of America, the average New Englander would currently have to spend $1,890 on regional food and beverage products annually by 2030. Based on geographical, cultural and economical access, this is not a realistic expectation for all New Englanders.
Massachusetts and Connecticut, due to higher population sizes, would be expected to carry a larger part of this responsibility to meet the 30% by 2030 goal.
One large benefit in New England is that a lot of grocery stores are avid supporters of regional foods and compete well against multi-national brands that are not as supportive. This heightens the region’s capability to increase the amount of local food eaten by 2030.
For more information, and access to the full report “New England Feeding New England,” visit nefoodsystemplanners.org/projects/report-components.
by Kelsi Devolve
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