2024 Rhode Island Food System Summit Program

8:45 AM EST      Pre-Summit Showcase

9:00 AM EST      Welcoming Remarks

  • Jack Reed, U.S. Senator for Rhode Island
  • Elizabeth Tanner, Secretary of Commerce for Rhode Island 
  • Marc B. Parlange, President, University of Rhode Island
  • Katharine Hazard Flynn, Executive Director, URI Business Engagement Center

9:10 AM EST    Implementing a National Seafood Strategy: NOAA Fisheries’ work to sustainably manage marine fisheries and produce seafood responsibly

Presenter: Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA

9:35 AM EST      Building Resilience with our State’s Food Strategy

Presenter: Juli Stelmaszyk, Director of Food Strategy for Rhode Island, Commerce RI

9:55 AM EST      BREAK 

10:00 AM EST      Exploring the intricate relationship between farming practices and long term ocean health.

Presenters: Beth Alaimo, Education Program Manager, Ocean Hour Farm; Sara Wuerstle, Farm Director, Ocean Hour Farm; Moderated by Katharine Hazard Flynn, Executive Director, URI Business Engagement Center

10:30 AM EST      Regenerative Agriculture: Our role in supporting environmental stewardship

Presenters: Patrick Bauer, Assistant Professor, Sustainable Agriculture/Food Systems, University of Rhode Island; Laura Haverland and Andrew Morley, Sweet and Salty Farm; Jayne Merner Senecal, Earth Care Farm;  Dawn Spears, Ashawaug Farm; Moderated by Juli Stelmaszyk, Director of Food Strategy for Rhode Island, Commerce RI

11:15 AM EST      BREAK

11:20 AM EST      Solving challenges facing sustainable seafood production

Presenters: Rebecca Brown, Professor and Department Chair, Plant Sciences and Entomology, University of Rhode Island; Rachel Hutchinson, Marine Program Specialist, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, Barnstable County; Stuart Meltzer, Founder and Owner, Fearless Fish; Hirotsugu Uchida, Professor, Natural Resource Economics, University of Rhode Island; Moderated by Marta Gomez-Chiarri, Professor, Aquaculture/Fisheries, University of Rhode Island

12:00 PM EST      Food Summit Wrap-Up

* Program is subject to change.

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Contact Us

For more information, please contact Katie McGwin at kmcgwin@uri.edu.