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Neighbors find no-barrier food access at the Community FREEdge—and you can help.
Results from a recent survey lend insights into how the FREEdge is supporting our community.
Food insecurity is on the rise here in New Hampshire. Previous data showed 1 in 7 kids going without sufficient food; now that number is more like 1 in 6 according to the latest Feeding America Map the Meal Gap report. As families go back to school and the cold months approach, offering support to help families put food on the table is vital.
To address this reality, this Hunger Action Month we’re asking you to donate items purchased at Sweet Beet Market or online to stock the Community FREEdge in the coming months. Here’s why that really matters.
Restore SNAP & Invest in Local Farms
FEED Kearsarge is a local coalition working to solve this problem together—and you can help.
Our food system is at a critical turning point. Right now, Congress is shaping the next Farm Bill, a massive piece of federal legislation that dictates everything from what ends up on our dinner tables to how land is farmed, how rural communities develop, and whether our neighbors facing hard times can afford groceries.
FEED Kearsarge hosts successful 1st Annual Food Security Summit!
How do we move from feeding people to ending hunger to building resilient local and regional food systems that nourish all of us?
This is the question we gathered to explore at FEED Kearsarge’s very first Food Security Summit. 120 attendees representing 40 businesses and organizations came together, including farms, food pantries, healthcare and social services, education, land use and conservation, and policy and advocacy for an important day of learning and connection.
A Crisis of Food Affordability
FEED Kearsarge is a local coalition working to solve this problem together—and you can help.
Last fall we faced temporary lapse in SNAP benefits from the government shutdown, affecting 76,000 residents in New Hampshire. Although SNAP has been reinstated, cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill are compromising food assistance for many Granite Staters. Yet, for all food buyers there is a larger, ongoing issue: a crisis of food affordability. This crisis is leading to widespread food insecurity and economic anxiety for many people.
Start your own Community FREEdge
Use this handy guide to support the free flow of nourishment in your neighborhood.
The Kearsarge Food Hub has been operating a Community FREEdge - Free Fridge - onsite at Sweet Beet Market since 2021. This resource is a 24/7, no questions asked food access site for folks to find fresh produce from local farms, prepared meals from Sweet Beet Cafe, and grocery items like milk, eggs, yogurt, bread, and canned goods.
SNAP Freeze Response Plan
The community responds to support folks as federal food assistance disappears.
Starting November 1st, federal food assistance programs like SNAP and WIC that help over 42 million Americans afford to buy food will be frozen due to the government shutdown.
Here’s how we’re meeting the moment.
Fire recovery update - and how you can help!
We’re continuing to recover from the damage caused by a building fire where Sweet Beet Market + Cafe operates back on February 18th. In the effort to keep our community informed on our progress and what to expect, we have a brief update on how the recovery is going.
We hoped the building repairs would not include ripping up the kitchen floor where the fire burned, but unfortunately this could not be avoided. The floor has been partially torn up to remove char-damaged materials and mitigate long term issues. By taking care of this now, we will not have to worry about addressing it and having to close kitchen operations in the future.
Federal Policies Affect Food Security for NH Neighbors
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, is a food access program funded by the United States Department Agriculture (USDA).
The funding and administration of SNAP involve collaboration among the Secretary of Agriculture, Congress, and the Farm Bill. Changing administrations can mean big or small changes to federal funding and prioritization of programs like SNAP.
This is a good time to review what this program does and how it supports low income families as there are significant budget cuts making their way through Congress that will have real impacts on millions of Americans.
A Queer Perspective on our Food System Part 1 – Food Consumers
Prior to the spring of 2020, little was known about food security rates for transgender+ and LGB+ individuals throughout the United States. Little was known because it was not measured.
Community Garden Spotlight: A New Space at River Valley Community College
In 2020, a group of community organizations, including the Kearsarge Food Hub, came together to address food insecurity and mental health concerns in the Kearsarge region of New Hampshire exacerbated by the pandemic and co-created the FEED (Food Expansion, Education, Distribution) Kearsarge initiative.
Tray it Forward Update: In Meg's Garden
We launched the Tray it Forward program to distribute seedling trays to families in need, followed by gardening education to help folks reclaim the knowledge of how to grow their own food and connect with nature and community through gardening. Warner resident Meg is a two-year Tray It Forward veteran.
What is Food Sovereignty?
Here at the Kearsarge Food Hub, our mission is to reinvigorate our community within a restorative local food system through cultivating food sovereignty, growing engaged learners, and nurturing community. This mission is a new iteration of what we’ve been working toward over the past five years, with the notable addition of the term food sovereignty.