Webinar 9/22 – From Boat to Food Bank to Dining Hall: How Local Chowder Became a Community Solution
September 22, 2021 from 2 – 3 pm Eastern
Hosted by: Farm to Institution New England and the New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network
Join FINE and the New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network (FSCN) for a one-hour webinar to learn more about an inspiring partnership and ways to support local seafood and our regional food system.
The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance (CCCFA) was looking for a way to support its small boat fishermen when the usual markets for their seafood hit hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic. With major support from national philanthropic sources committed to helping fishermen survive the pandemic while serving food-insecure communities, as well as MIT Sea Grant and new partners from across the food system, they developed a seafood chowder from Cape-caught haddock. A true collaboration by local partners, the fish are caught by independent fishermen, processed by a local processor, and made into the chowder by a family-owned company, all based in MA. This chowder helped feed New England communities, going to food banks and community pantries throughout the region. Working with MIT Dining, they then modified packaging and delivery to serve institutional, food service markets as well.
Join Seth Rolbein of the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Trust, a program under the umbrella of the Fishermen’s Alliance, and Mark Hayes of MIT Dining to learn how this project supports our local food system and fishermen, how they developed this chowder for institutional dining, and how the students, faculty and staff reacted! Whether you’re a dining director, food system advocate, fisherman, or interested in supporting regional food systems, you’ll come away from this webinar inspired by this story of innovation and collaboration.
