In Barrington, Rhode Island, while the farming season nears its end for the year, the legislative season is just beginning. The Rhode Island Food Policy Council (RIFPC), a nonpartisan nonprofit committed to enhancing the state's food systems, announced its legislative priorities for 2025 on Friday. Lawmakers were invited to visit the Barrington Farm School to learn about food, farming, and composting. This farm, nestled between single-family homes and a fire station off Middle Highway, doesn't resemble a typical rural farm.

Highlighting the Importance of Farms

As lawmakers sipped coffee and engaged with food experts and farmers, their conversations were sometimes overshadowed by the sounds of suburbia. Margaret DeVos, executive director of the Providence-based Southside Community Land Trust and a RIFPC council member, emphasized that all the food we eat comes from farms or water. Without farms, she stated, humanity would perish. The November 15 event demonstrated the significance of urban farms like the Barrington Farm School for Rhode Island. This farm school is the last one in Barrington. It was purchased in the late 19th century by Italian immigrants, supplying local residents with produce, meats, and dairy products. Back then, it was one of many farms; Barrington was renowned for its farmland even in the days of Plymouth Colony.During the 20th century, the farm remained in the same family's ownership, but the surrounding farmland started to disappear. This is a common story across Rhode Island, as thousands of acres of farmland have been taken over by single-family housing, strip malls, and other post-war developments.The Barrington Farm School began when Tim Faulkner, a former ecoRI News reporter, and other Barrington residents became interested in purchasing the farm as a nonprofit to preserve it and teach Rhode Islanders about the disappearing practice of farming. Faulkner described the farm school as "a living classroom without walls" in his remarks on Friday.Sen. Jennifer Boylan, D-Barrington, said, "This is the last farm in Barrington. We must teach our children to tend the soil and grow delicious things from the earth."

Focus on Organic Farming and Composting

The Barrington Farm School focuses on organic farming and attaches great importance to collecting food scraps from local schools, businesses, and residents. So far this year, the farm has produced about 54,000 pounds of compost for use on its agricultural fields, but it still isn't sufficient.All of RIFPC's legislative priorities for the next year revolve around strengthening local farming and reducing the amount of food waste sent to landfills. It aims to boost state resources for local composting efforts, revise tax credits for urban and small farmers, provide free lunch and breakfast for all school students, better support the purchase of local food, and implement a tax credit for food donations.RIFPC representatives have realistic expectations for incremental progress this year. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials have had ample funds to invest in various projects and issues, but the pandemic-era federal money is almost depleted. State budget officials predict a $398 million deficit in the next fiscal year, which will lead to significant cuts in existing programs and department budgets.

Recent Improvements and Challenges

In recent years, there have been modest improvements and gains for farms and food in Rhode Island. The Green Bond approved by voters earlier this month included millions for the Agricultural Land Preservation Commission (ALPC), which preserves farmland. Last session, lawmakers included funds in the budget to enable students who pay for reduced-price lunches to receive their school meals for free.However, despite these successes, farmland in Rhode Island still faces pressure. Due to the state's small size, there isn't enough farmland remaining after decades of development. The movement for housing and renewable energy installations provides additional motivation for farmers to sell their farmland and convert it into something else entirely. The state has about 1,054 individual farms, and many of the fastest-growing ones are in dense or urban areas, like the Barrington Farm School.Much of RIFPC's proposed policies are based on the least-wasteful vision for food and also address food insecurity and hunger. A 2023 report from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank estimates that one-third of all Rhode Island households cannot afford adequate food. Communities of color are at the highest risk of food insecurity, with 48% of Black households and 51% of Latino households reporting food insecurity. The food bank attributes the increase in hunger to inflation and the reduction of emergency food benefits from the federal government."We need farms here in Rhode Island if we want to eat healthier food," DeVos said.