The Carroll County Food Access Network was formed with the support of UNH Extension to create a network of local and state level agencies to focus on priority areas that were identified through a community food access needs assessment conducted in 2023. UNH Extension has partnered with NH Hunger Solutions to form a backbone team to facilitate the efforts of the network, and working teams have been formed to focus on identified priority areas.
In 2022 UNH Extension received a Well Connected Communities grant to conduct a thorough food access needs assessment. In collaboration with the Carroll County Food Access Network and the Carsey School for Public Policy the needs assessment complied data from a community and farmer/producer survey, focus groups, and other county and state data to learn more about community access to food. From this information Priority Area Teams were created to set goals and take action steps to increase and improve access to healthy, affordable food in Carroll County.
Mission Statement:
Carroll County Food Access Network is a resource to optimize access to affordable, nutritious, food for all people with efforts focused on supporting the local food system in Carroll County, New Hampshire.
- Joy Gagnon, UNH Extension
- Tiffany Brewster, NH Hunger Solutions
CCFAN Priority Area Teams
Team Lead Nadine SanAntonio, NH Food Bank Carroll County SNAP Outreach
Strategies:
- Share what we know.
- Invite others to come to our meetings
- Be in communication with other folks doing the work.
- Use each other as a resource.
Strategies:
- Be aware of opportunities to get the word out about SNAP particularly to populations most at-risk of non-participation.
- Use the libraries for on-site presence and distribute through future book mobile
- Be a presence at Food Pantries to distribute printed information and hear what people have to say
- Send information through Meals on Wheels
- Other outlets could be laundromats, community rooms at residential complexes, congregate meal sites, church gathering spaces… In all these situations we can be available to hear people’s stories
and through contacts we make in the field.
Strategies:
- Inform people on this team and the entire network about Mobile Food Pantry truck delivery schedule to meet folks and deliver the food boxes to their cars.
Team Lead – Joy Gagnon, UNH Extension Teacher
networking and collaborations.
Strategies:
- Increase funding for Senior Meal programs
- Donations or federal/state/county/town support
- Networking or sharing information between Centers
- Create marketing material to the community.
- Create interagency material
- Age Friendly Communities Resource Guide https://www.mwvagefriendly.org/resource-guide/
- Networking meetings for agencies to learn more about each other’s work.
- Northern Carroll County Providers Network – Contact Catalina Kirsch catalina.kirsch@graniteuw.org to be added to the email list
- Ossipee United Round Table (For the Ossipee Area) – Contact Joy Gagnon joy.gagnon@unh.edu to be added to the email list.
- CCFAN meetings can offer this opportunity too
Strategies:
- Build collaboration in the community to make this successful and share the load
- The location will be based on where there is no site within a reasonable drive
- Can we feed parents too?
Goal #3 Assist agencies with reaching individuals experiencing homelessness
to provide healthy meals/food in the areas they are living.
Strategies:
- Research congregate meals or meals on wheels options for people experiencing homelessness to have a report on this by December.
- Contact people in towns who work.
Team Lead Mark McConkey, State Representative
Strategies:
- Reach out to individual farmers
- Attend Farmers Markets to talk to the farmers
- Connect WIC to Farmers Market Managers to reach farmers
- Give the team marketing info to share with farmers
- Z024 goal: Create and implement a farmer survey and researching topics listed below to write a report on findings by the end of 2024.
Strategies:
- Survey farmers needs
- Research topics listed below – by December we will have a report to share
- Food Hubs – Research how other food hubs work
- Research community, municipal, commercial farming programs that work
- High Tunnel
- Transportation – related to food access
- Economic improvements and affordable housing
