Put Local on Your Tray
The Put Local on Your Tray Program helps connect local farmers and schools by working with school districts, farmers, state agencies and others to shift food procurement practices in school cafeterias and early childhood centers. Our goal is to increase the amount of fresh, locally grown food served in meals.
Put Local On Your Tray Website
SOLID GROUND – a Program for New Farms and Farmers
The Solid Ground program offers a mix of in-person and virtual trainings for new farmers. Trainings cover agricultural mechanics, climate smart ag practices, tools to help you start your business, mental health & wellness, and more. Additional peer-to-peer learning opportunities are offered by project partners, including New CT Farmer Alliance, CT Northeast Organic Farming Association, CT Farmland Trust and other partners.
SOLID GROUND has a suite of resources to strengthen our farms across Connecticut. Trainings are based on input from beginning farmers and UConn Extension’s recent experience working with beginner farmers.
Solid Ground for New & Beginning Farmers Website
Climate Smart Adaptation Strategies (Starting Your Farm With the Climate in Mind)
With a changing climate, it becomes more and more important that our farmers are nimble and adaptable to a variety of weather and temperature events. This is especially relevant for new and beginning farmers as they are building their farms and creating businesses that will ideally last throughout these new challenges. We think it’s important that these new farms have the right groundwork for the farms they are creating, so we have this new project to provide resources specifically for beginning farmers to adapt climate smart practices in their operations.
Learn more about Climate Smart Adaptation Strategies
Grown ConNECTed
Grown ConNECTed hopes to make local, farm-fresh food easier to find for YOU, the residents of the “Quiet Corner” of Northeastern CT (NECT). This project aims to increase sales for direct-to-consumer farm operators. The project uses marketing strategies, branding, and public outreach to help residents in the region understand the importance of local food and where to find it.
We work with food-producing farmers across the region to support their hard work in providing local food to their communities. Our hope is that more customers support these farmers while also enjoying the full taste of local flavor on their plates.