SEACOAST EAT LOCAL
Seacoast Eat Local (SEL) cultivates a resilient, equitable, and community‑centered food system across the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and Maine. Working year round, SEL connects consumers and producers through a variety of initiatives centered around direct-to-consumer markets. Education is woven into every facet of SEL’s work. From market resources and print materials to digital workshops and youth‑based initiatives, SEL’s programming sparks informed food choices and deepens understanding of local agriculture. With goals to reach tens of thousands of people each year, these efforts build awareness of seasonal growing cycles, producer stories, and culturally relevant foods.
SEL’s programs include summer and winter farmers markets; the SNAP & Incentives program, which doubles the value of federal benefits; community and youth education through hands‑on workshops; and the Seacoast Harvest Local Food Guide, a comprehensive directory of farms, fisheries, and markets across the region. Together, these initiatives draw thousands of residents annually to markets, events, and digital resources, reconnecting them with the land and the people who grow their food. By fostering direct relationships and sharing resources, SEL strengthens the social fabric that sustains our regional food community today and into the future.
SEACOAST EAT LOCAL
4 Captain Smith Emerson Rd.
Lee, NH
seacoasteatlocal.org
[email protected]
MT. WASHINGTON VALLEY EATERS & GROWERS
Mt. Washington Valley Eaters & Growers (MWVEG) started with a simple idea: Gather local farmers around a meal and ask what they need to succeed. Nearly 60 farmers joined the conversation with one goal rising to the top: Reach more local eaters through collaboration. While farmers shared ideas like policy change, equipment sharing, and distribution, it was shared marketing that took root. From there, MWVEG grew, forming a board of both farmers and eaters.
MWVEG’s mission is to create a robust and resilient local food system by strengthening collaboration and communication between farmers and the community. MWVEG tells the stories of local producers, supports farmer viability, creates marketing materials, and expands access to locally grown food.
Through the Food for All program, MWVEG provides vouchers to community members who need support affording fresh, local food. These can be used at farm stands, CSA programs, and farmers markets. MWVEG believes that everyone in the local area deserves access to nutritious food and that a strong community is the backbone of a thriving food system.
MWVEG
PO Box 1480
Conway, NH
mwveg.com
[email protected]
KEARSARGE FOOD HUB
The Kearsarge Food Hub (KFH) sprouted in 2015 with a pilot project, Sweet Beet Farm Stand, and has grown into a dynamic nonprofit organization with the core mission of connecting local people to local food.
Today, KFH operates diverse programming, including operating Sweet Beet Farm + Market + Café, which provides critical infrastructure to grow, store, prepare, and share local food, as well as farm education for all ages and a robust food security program.
In 2024, KFH donated nearly $120,000 worth of locally purchased produce to support 7,000 individuals through food pantries and a Community FREEdge, hosted 250 learners on the farm, including farmer apprentices in a career readiness program, and sourced from 250-plus local and regional food and beverage vendors to provide access to local food for 4,000-plus customers, including SNAP users.
KEARSARGE FOOD HUB
11 W. Main St.
Bradford, NH
kearsargefoodhub.org
[email protected]
LITTLETON FOOD CO-OP
There’s no one person leading Littleton Food Co-op’s charge toward local food—it’s thousands. As a cooperative, a business owned by its members, Littleton Co-op is owned by more than 11,000 residents of New Hampshire’s North Country and beyond.
The Co-op opened its doors in 2009 as a response to community members who wanted more than the single corporate grocery store that existed at the time in Littleton, New Hampshire. Today, it buys from more than 200 local (within 100 miles of the store) farmers and producers, some of whom have no other retail outlet.
Purchasing power is a big piece of the puzzle, but not everything. “We want to be the catalyst for creating a vibrant community around our local food system so that people know the importance, and the joy, of building resilience” says Becky Colpitts, Littleton Co-op’s community outreach coordinator. To do this, the co-op frequently puts on free cooking demos with local chefs using local ingredients, hosts talks by climate and farming experts, and even brings shoppers out to the fields for local farm tours. Moving forward, the Littleton Co-op is working to expand its work in local food access and food security.
LITTLETON FOOD CO-OP
43 Bethlehem Rd.
Littleton, NH
littletoncoop.com
[email protected]
