In the News
Local media sharing our story
Thank you to our media partners who help share the story of the Kearsarge Food Hub and the solutions we’re exploring in our community and local food system. Behind each story is a living network of people working together to create meaningful change!
Kearsarge region’s first food security summit to highlight need, community action and path forward
In Hanna Flanders’s view, the national food system has demonstrated its vulnerabilities in recent weeks and months.
The rising prices of fuel and fertilizer are leading to higher prices at grocery stores, which are directly passed down to consumers. Adverse weather disrupted crop availability, like the mid-January freeze that slowed carrot growth, leading to bare shelves in New England. Changes to federal food programs left nonprofits scrambling to determine the growing need and keep up with demand.
FEED Kearsarge, a coalition of local food access organizations, including Flanders’s nonprofit, the Kearsarge Food Hub, wants to be prepared for the next moment of crisis. Last October, when disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program took the nation by surprise, the group was caught flat-footed because it was largely dormant at the time.
Kearsarge Food Hub turns 10, celebrates new era of food security work
Kathleen Bigford regarded Bradford, like she did most of New Hampshire, as a greying place.
Having lived in town for decades and taught at the ConVal district middle school in neighboring Antrim for 25 years, she’d seen many young people leave the area and pursue their passions elsewhere. Then, as she approached her retirement, five of them returned.
“They had gone to school together, had traveled the world and had decided, ‘We want to be in Bradford and establish a food network with local farmers and have a place where local people can buy local food,’” she recalled.
Kearsarge Food Hub: A Nurturing Space for the Community
The Kearsarge Food Hub, in Bradford, New Hampshire, will celebrate its 10th year in 2025. Since its founding as Sweet Beet Farm a decade ago it has been transforming the concept of what a food hub is. Read more!
Sweet Beet Market reopens with community support after fire
Lauren Howard was at home, recovering from a cold, when she got the news that Sweet Beet Market and Café, the store she’d spent the last decade building, was on fire.
It was the last thing any business owner wants to hear.
A New Exhibit in Bradford Shows How Local Farmers Are Responding to Climate Change
The Climate Farmers Stories exhibit at Sweet Beet Market and Café in Bradford is telling the stories of local farmers who are responding to climate change. Read more.
Contoocook Pantry Grows Seeds, Gives Back to Neighbors
The Concord Monitor looks at the Abenaki Seed Project’s work in our community. Read more.
40 Under Forty Awards 2024
KFH Executive Director France Hahn named one of Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty leaders in NH!
Read more about this honor and France’s excellent leadership in a KFH blog post.
Farmers Share Their Mental Health Worries
“Despite the romanticized picture of farming as a peaceful, laid-back lifestyle, the reality is far from idyllic. The persistent pressure of managing their farm – tending to crops and livestock, fixing fences and maintaining equipment – and ensuring its success, can leave farmers feeling overwhelmed, stressed and anxious. The mental toll of these tasks can be just as challenging as the physical demands.” Read more.
Common Ground: A New Hampshire Food Hub Models How Community Support is Essential to the Future of Organic Farms
A well-worn piece of paper has hung above Alfonso’s desk ever since. Delivered by a member of the Kearsarge Food Hub (KFH), it lists the names and numbers of people in the local food community who could help her. Read more.
How I Live Free: Kearsarge Food Hub
Sweet Beet Farm was profiled by Visit New Hampshire in their “How I Live Free” online video series. Watch the video.
Becoming Ourselves: How To Grow Community
Our co-founder and Director of Community Engagement, Hanna Flanders, takes to the TedX stage in Concord, NH to talk about the origins of the Kearsarge Food Hub, its work in the local community and why it matters. Watch the video.
Communities and Consequences II: Rebalancing New Hampshire’s Human Ecology
KFH spent some time with documentary film maker Jay Childs to lend our perspective on living and developing a nonprofit organization from scratch here in New Hampshire. Watch the video.
Local, Resilient: Kearsarge Food Hub Offers Farm-to-School Program
From humble beginnings as a seasonal roadside farm stand, the Kearsarge Food Hub has blossomed into a powerful force of good in the region, recently celebrating its 5th anniversary. It was founded by a group of passionate high school friends reconnecting after college, wanting to begin an organization driven by strong values and goals. Read more.
50 Businesses, 50 Solutions: Kearsarge Food Hub Addresses Food Insecurity During Pandemic
For five years, Kearsarge Food Hub has existed withthe purpose of helping strengthen connections to local foods in Bradford and the greater Kearsarge region. With food insecurity more pressing than ever, the Bradford-based nonprofit has increased its food donation programs by 550% compared to last year. Read more.