On February 4, UMass Dartmouth Dining Services & Farm and Institution New England will present an online summit focused on leveraging institutions to support local seafood producers, kelp, and underutilized species.
Join UMass Dartmouth and Farm to Institution New England (FINE) at the Virtual New England Sea Summit 2021 focused on leveraging institutions to support local seafood producers, kelp, and underutilized species. Attendees will learn about the challenges and opportunities of producing and sourcing farmed kelp and underutilized fish species in New England.
The one-day event includes presentations from regional seafood experts, an engaging panel, and stakeholder dialogue. Speakers will share how a team of colleges and supply chain partners tackled procurement issues through a 2018 New England Food Vision Prize from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Speakers will also share how they worked to bring underutilized species into community and university dining programs, even with the added challenges presented by a global pandemic.
The goal of the Sea Summit is to educate and unite anyone who is interested in local and sustainable purchasing, procurement, food service operations, supply chains, and sustainable seafood. This event will highlight the importance of local food initiatives and encourage restaurants, hospitals, schools, colleges, and universities to help our region produce at least 50 percent of our food by 2060.
This free, online event takes place from 11 am to 3 pm (EST) on Thursday, February 4, 2021. For complete details and to register, visit the FINE website.
About the participating colleges:
UMass Dartmouth, Eastern Connecticut State University, Northeastern University, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy partnered with the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to better support local aquaculture and fishing industries. This team collaborated on two Food Vision Prizes: underutilized, local fish and kelp farming. Both projects sought to create a market for and raise awareness about underutilized local seafood products and involved working on supply chain logistics, developed new menus and recipes for the products while engaging students and community members.
Keynote speakers include:
- Briana Warner, CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, Kelp and Production
- Barton Seaver, Chef, and Author of The Joy of Seafood and Superfood Seagreens
- Kate Masury, Program Director, Eating with the Ecosystem