To the Editor:

Thanks to the Cabinet for providing coverage of our Food Coop project.

The Souhegan Transition Network is seeking to create a Food Coop that would work with farmers and artisans to create an easily accessible market with regular hours that would feature food from local farms. We feel this would be a boon to the farmers, as they could get their products out to market without going through the inefficient exercise of farmers’ markets (though we do love and appreciate all the work that goes into them). A Food Coop would be a relatively easy way to pay farmers what their food is worth and enable consumers to access it easily and reliably. A Food Coop would also build agricultural capacity for our region. Did you know that New Hampshire produces only 5% of the food we consume? We’re very vulnerable to sudden increases in fuel prices, for instance, which would dramatically raise the cost of the food we purchase. Building local capacity for growing food is a great way to help provide us with greater food security, as well as a way to cut down on our carbon footprint.

We would like to locate the market in a site that would be convenient with space for parking, preferably in Wilton or Milford and are actively seeking community members who would like to shape the future of this coop. If you are interested in collaborating with us, please send an email to souheganfoodcoop@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you! We are not quite ready to accept members” yet and if you did send in a donation to get us started and have not had it returned, please let us know. If you’d like to know more about the Coop but aren’t sure you want to go to meetings (perfectly understandable, though our meetings are always fun!), please check our website and you will find the minutes of previous meetings and links to related topics: souhegan-
transition.org.

Thanks once again to the Cabinet for covering our project.

Michael Conley

Souhegan Transition Network