Process and Timeline

 September 2023 - May 2024

Project Launch and Participatory Engagement

The NH Food Alliance was awarded funding and granted the authority to lead this project through the USDA’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, administered by the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food. The NH Charitable Foundation generously provided supplemental funding to enable the project’s reach and success.

Through the launch of a Participatory Engagement Plan, the NH Food Alliance led the collection of information to provide important context and insight to the brief development process. With iterative input, the list of product, market, and issue briefs, as well as suggested subject matter experts for each, was drafted by the NH Food Alliance’s Strategic Plan Development team and reviewed by the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan Advisory Committee. During this initial phase, the Strategic Plan Development team:

> Engaged with 600+ individuals through more than 43 listening sessions, focus groups, surveys, and one-on-one conversations. The input provided through these sessions informed the shape, direction, and content of the Strategic Plan in many ways, impacting the list of brief topics, the subject matter experts consulted, the concerns or challenges included, the programs highlighted, and more. Opportunities to engage were promoted widely throughout the network and offered in a variety of formats (in-person, virtually, or asynchronously) and times for individuals to engage. 

> Formed a NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is a group of dedicated leaders from local, regional, and statewide organizations and initiatives that provided guidance and oversight to the NH Food Alliance on the process, structure, and content of the Strategic Plan. The group represents six governmental agencies, twelve non-profit organizations, four food businesses, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, and UNH Extension. Stipends were offered to any individual whose time would not have otherwise been compensated for this work.

> Created a special designation of “Equity Advisor” within the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan Advisory Committee. Equity Advisors provided input, feedback, and ideas on both the process and content of the Strategic Plan. They guided the process of applying equity as a lens to the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan and served as content experts on centering equity in brief development. Additional stipends were offered to any of these individuals who were not already compensated for this work.

> Hosted a UNH Sustainability Institute Fellow who focused on the integration of equity as a lens into brief development through conducting equity analyses of nearly all brief

May - December 2024

Brief Development

Subject matter experts were invited to participate in the development and drafting of each product, market, and issue brief through prioritization meetings and other collaborative efforts. The content of the plan was written by 118 subject matter experts representing 89 organizations and communities and resulted in 27 product, market and issue briefs. Stipends were offered to any of these individuals who were not otherwise compensated for this work.

September - January 2024

Public Comment Period

Each brief was shared for a 30-day Public Comment Period, during which the general public could review and provide input on the draft of the brief. After the Public Comment Period for each brief closed, the comments were reviewed by the brief authors and considered for incorporation into the final brief draft. Similarly, the Vision, Goals, and opening pages of the Strategic Plan were shared for a 30-day Public Comment Period before finalization. This process was designed intentionally to provide an additional series of opportunities for community members not directly involved in the development of the Strategic Plan to review, provide input on, and influence it. 

February - March 2025

Design and Publication

The print design of the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan happened concurrently with the creation of a Strategic Plan web platform on the NH Food Alliance’s website. The platform is dynamic, filterable and allows for updates, modifications, comments, and the gathering of related information, ensuring the Strategic Plan is a living, actionable document. All brief recommendations were categorized by goal, type of action, topic, and other tags and uploaded as a filterable catalog to the platform. In addition, each brief was uploaded as a web page that included links and references not included in the print version.

March 18, 2025

The NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan was officially published in print and online and shared widely.

Through the Lenses of Equity & Farm Viability

The NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan sought to center equity in the process of developing the Strategic Plan, the selection of topics (the products, markets, and issues) included in the Strategic Plan, through the individuals whose voices are reflected in the Strategic Plan, and in the recommendations included as steps toward creating a more sustainable, equitable, and thriving food system. The entirety of the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan—every brief, recommendation, and outcome—is grounded in the goal of increasing the farm, fish, and food business viability in our state, while also considering a producer’s holistic needs, like healthcare and childcare. Throughout the Strategic Plan, the carefully considered strategies recommended to meet that goal take many shapes, including the redefining of farm viability to a model that better meets the reality farmers face.