Background
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New Hampshire lawmakers have introduced legislation that aims to expand the market for food grown in the Granite State.
Senate Bill 141 would establish a farm-to-table program similar to programs in Vermont and Rhode Island, to help bolster the state’s “food and farm economy” by increasing access to healthy food, promoting jobs and encouraging private and public investment in local agriculture.
The bill, sponsored by a half dozen legislators led by Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth), calls for creation of an advisory council to the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. Among its duties, the council would be charged with gathering data on the types of food produced in New Hampshire, “current and potential markets” for local farmers and the extent of land available for future food production.