It’s a lot of work and a lot of organization. But it’s work that Giroux happily chooses. From 2013 to 2016, she was the New York City restaurateur David Bouley’s farmer, growing more than 300 types of herbs in downtown Manhattan. But then in 2017, Giroux and her pastry chef husband moved to Litchfield County to start their own farm. She quickly identified problems within the distribution system. 

“Small- to medium-sized farms rely on sales just like other businesses. Growing the product isn’t the problem,” says Giroux. “The problem is finding the channels of distribution. Food hubs bridge the marketing, sales and distribution channels while taking out any middlemen.”

In a feasibility study conducted by the nonprofit Partner Sustainable Healthy Communities in 2015, the local farmers expressed a common desire for a Food Hub. 

So, Giroux started one. 

Renee Giroux. Photography by Winter Caplanson.

The NWC Food Hub brings local farmers together to create community, collaborate and understand the bigger issues they face. “It can be really challenging for small farms to hire the appropriate staff and meet the needs of our overall community,” says Giroux. The overarching goal is to bridge the gap between the food insecure, food pantries, farm-to-school projects and feeding the general population. 

“My mission is so simple: It is to raise awareness about small family farms throughout New England and beyond; to show how strong and mighty and resilient we all are; how we are the backbone and the fabric to a lot of our communities,” says Giroux. “Every morning you should think of your farmer.”

In Connecticut, small farms represent 28 percent of the total farms, many of which are first-generation farms. Small, first-generation farms are often susceptible to common business start-up issues. The NWC Food Hub aims to help the local agriculture sector’s 200 farms overcome common hurdles, such as establishing social connections and distribution channels. 

Additionally, Giroux advocates for fair farmer pricing. Whether the food is sold to wholesalers or donated to nonprofits, the farmers receive the same price for their produce made possible through grants. 

Renee Giroux. Photography by Winter Caplanson.

The local farms Giroux works with grow more than 100 different varieties of local produce, including microgreens, cut greens, corn, apples, cucumbers, collard greens, kohlrabi, tomatoes, chicory, endive and more. 

This past year, the NWC Food Hub distributed more than 100,000 pounds of produce to 16 food pantries, 24 schools and numerous restaurants and grocery stores. All produce is uploaded weekly, on Sundays, by the farms, and the ordering platform opens up Monday for nonprofits and wholesale buyers to place their orders. “Everything is fresh in, fresh out. By working together as a farm team, we post what we have available, the orders are placed and, within 24 hours, it is delivered to the consumer, on children’s plates or being handed out at the food pantries,” says Giroux. 

Crop planning and future projections are made in the offseason by larger food pantry directors. The majority of Food Hub’s funding comes through a Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program grant, with additional donations provided by local nonprofits and individuals. They are currently funded through 2025, “but, ideally, we’d like to break even by 2024 so we don’t have to rely on donations,” says Giroux. 

Finding pantries to which to donate the excess produce is the easiest part of the job, as they are small and do not have much funding to purchase fresh produce to serve their clients. According to the nonprofit United for Alice, in 2021, of Connecticut’s more than 1.4 million households, 552,710 (35 percent) had incomes below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival. (ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed or earning more than the Federal Poverty Level but not enough to afford the basics where they live.)

NWC Food Hub also works with ProduceRx and NourishRx to provide curated boxes of farm-fresh produce for patients with specific medical needs. Giroux coordinates with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, CT, which focuses on getting nutritionally dense food to patients with underlying health conditions, specifically Type 2 diabetes. Numerous studies show that “produce prescriptions” (under the umbrella of “food as medicine”) positively affect patients’ diets, decrease food insecurity, increase disease management and reduce overall healthcare costs.

After seven years of ups and downs, NWC’s Food Hub model is now running smoothly. “When it started, it was just me, boots on the ground, doing everything,” says Giroux. She was the entire enterprise, handling invoicing, deliveries, taking orders and forging connections. The NWC Food Hub now has a small network of volunteers, two drivers and a coordinator to communicate with farmers as well as solve any last-minute order issues. With the NWC Food Hub running in a higher gear, Giroux’s own Subaru should get some rest. 

The post Meet the Farmer Championing Fair Food Prices While Fighting Food Insecurity appeared first on Modern Farmer.

As a photographer, Tese has tried to document the changing ocean life, both to preserve a memory of what once was and to bring attention to its rapid decline. In December 2019, after years of trial and error, she finally perfected an innovative 8×10 sheet film camera, designed to take underwater photographs of the Channel Islands’ kelp forests. Tese wanted a unique way to tell the story of the plight of the integral kelp forests. Then, the pandemic struck, the dive boats were docked and her visual storytelling was put on indefinite hold. 

That’s when Tese decided to spread her message of ocean conservation another way: through a seafood restaurant. 

Chef Cheo Avila at Minnow. Photography by Michelle Colman.

Yes, it seems unorthodox or even counter-intuitive at first glance, but Tese is approaching the foodservice industry with resolve to shake things up. Minnow will only serve responsibly line or trap caught seasonably available seafood. The restaurant’s motto is: Local. Line caught. Organic. Despite being told by “almost everyone” that her business model is impossible (mostly due to cost and sourcing), Tese is determined to prove them all wrong. “Absolutely no nets, no draggers, trawlers, gill or seine nets,” she vows. “And, absolutely no bykill.” 

“Bykill” or “bycatch” are terms used for animals accidentally caught in fishing gear. Nets do not discriminate. Whatever is not intended to be caught is discarded. It is estimated that the U.S. discards two billion pounds of bycatch a year. According to Gen V, “About 40 percent of fish caught worldwide are captured unintentionally and are either thrown back dying or left to die on the boat.” Bycatch can include whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sea birds, coral and sharks. The negative effects of bycatch go far beyond the unnecessary deaths of unintentional catches, disrupting the entire marine ecosystem. 

The difficulties of only serving locally sourced, responsibly caught seafood extend beyond trying to find local fishermen in line with Minnow’s mission. Tese continues her extensive research of the fishermen’s methods and also takes into consideration where the fish are processed. 

Cognizant of the locals’ way of life, Tese asks detailed questions, such as what kind of lines are used to catch which fish? “Certain fish caught on long lines can be bad depending on where those lines are so they don’t catch the wrong animals,” says Tese.“Golden tilefish can only be caught on long lines, but those lines are very deep down so no other marine animals get caught on them.”

Similarly, she says, the majority of seafood processing plants in the country have closed due to the economic development potential of waterfront property and cheaper offshore options. Even if consumers think they are getting “local” fish, that fish is often frozen, shipped to China for processing, thawed, processed, refrozen and returned. “And,” says Tese, “who is to say that you even get the same fish back?”

Rather than take her chances with foreign processors, Tese is determined to stick with local seafood, and she is pleased with the diversity of options. Her Mediterranean-inspired menu will include golden tilefish, black sea bass, which is plentiful around the North Fork, porgy and raw bar items such as whelks, local lobsters, squid and blue claw crabs, as well as local produce and wine.

Amanda Akran curated the bar and cocktail menu for Minnow. Photography by Michelle Colman.

Beyond the sustainable menu, Tese aims to use only reusable or returnable glass to-go containers, mismatched thrifted tableware sets and vintage decor reworked by Lumber & Salt from its local salvage yard.

Tese hopes to host fundraising events and talks to benefit her favorite conservancy nonprofits, such as Oceana and Sea Shepherd, at least twice a year. “That is the way I’ll educate people.”  However, she has no intention of being heavy handed with her conservation message, as she believes the proof is in the pudding. “If I can prove the model works, it will speak for itself.” 

Minnow opened recently on Memorial Day weekend in the waterfront town of New Suffolk. 

The post Meet the Photographer Turned Seafood Restaurateur Dedicated to Conservation appeared first on Modern Farmer.