Aquidneck Growers Market - Wednesday

Aquidneck Community Table is the only organization on our island dedicated to comprehensive food-system transformation. For over 15 years, we’ve worked to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, race, or background, has access to healthy, culturally appropriate food and the opportunity to grow it themselves. Growing a healthy local food system accessible to all on our island. We believe food is a human right. By connecting growers with eaters, students with soil, and neighbors with fresh local nourishment, we’re building the foundation for a food system that serves justice, sustains the environment, and strengthens our island community. We envision a rebuilt and more equitable food system where Aquidneck Island provides food security for all. In this future: Every school has gardens integral to curriculum, community gardens dot neighborhoods, and productive land replaces ornamental landscaping. Farmers markets are affordable and available, grocery stores feature large local food sections, and no one on our island goes hungry. Island farmers have sustainable succession plans, new farmers access land, and the fishing industry connects with local consumers. Multi-generational leaders across race, ethnicity, and class care for neighbors and environment while supporting this new food system model. Access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food with the choice to grow, harvest and gather food sustainably as a basic human right. Food bonds us and sits at the center of our cultures. We promote an equitable and inclusive society, lifting voices of those underrepresented. As food citizens, each of us must know where our food comes from to realize an equitable, sustainable food system. We are stewards of our food resources, supporting the New England Food Vision goal of producing 30 percent of our food locally by 2030 while ensuring all participants in the food system can thrive. Our work began with island organizations informally known as Island Commons, recognizing the need for wider understanding of food and agricultural issues. Strategic planning with community leaders and stakeholders revealed the need for an organization that could connect, enhance, and educate about our island’s food system. In 2016, we unified under the Aquidneck Community Table name, becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Grants from The Kendall Foundation and Apple Pickers Foundation supported strategic development, allowing us to expand from farmers markets to comprehensive food system work. Today we manage 80 garden plots across five sites, partner with multiple schools, and operate year-round markets while advocating for policy changes. Our 2022-2025 strategic plan focuses on food system transformation that addresses the root causes of food insecurity and builds community power. During COVID-19, Rhode Island experienced the highest food insecurity in 20 years, with 34% of Black and Latinx households food insecure compared to 14.2% of White households, highlighting the racial inequities our work addresses. Rhode Island has lost over 80% of its farmland, with 25% of remaining farmers over 65 and nearing retirement. On Aquidneck Island, farmland faces pressure from development and climate change. Public support for local agriculture and fresh foods is strong and growing, while the New England Food Vision provides a framework for regional food system transformation. Manage a network of community gardens and farmland while developing capacity for new garden construction and farmland management. Expand market offerings, grow diverse customer and vendor base, support SNAP partnerships, and promote community garden partnerships. Develop more school programs, and continue policy advocacy through Rhode Island Food Policy Council participation. Join The Food System Transformation We are building a new food system for our island where people grow their own food; support local farmers, fishers, and makers; and ensure no one goes hungry. A