KINGSTON, R.I. – Jan. 23, 2026 – Nearly 200 people visited the University of Rhode Island Kingston Campus for the Ocean State’s ninth annual Rhode Island Food System Summit, hosted this year by URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences. The “Meet the Moment” summit brought together policy analysts, entrepreneurs in local food production and distribution, academic researchers, and local food system advocates working on the front lines of food. Together, attendees discussed ways to work together in times of change and prepare for more challenges in the years ahead, with University expertise and community connections on display during the day-long program.

Thought-provoking discussions and breakout sessions put a spotlight on projects aligned with the state’s Relish Rhody food strategy, offering participants the chance to learn about new initiatives, share ideas, and build new collaborations.

Georgina Sarpong, director of food strategy for Rhode Island Commerce, kicked off the day by calling attendees into action, saying, “This food summit is more than a conversation. It’s about coming together, finding the things we’re good at, talking about the challenges we find and the opportunities and strengths we have. Today is an opportunity to connect with people, leave with new connections and ideas, and inspiration to take back to your organizations.”

Why Rhode Island?

Why not?

That was the answer Melissa Cherney arrived at when she first considered an invitation to interview with the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Now in her first year as CEO, the Midwest transplant shared a powerful story of the people behind food systems.

Raised on a farm in North Dakota, Cherney grew up witnessing how food producers are impacted by economics. Cherney’s family farm raised wheat, barley, sunflowers and sheep. She was proud of her family’s farming heritage, “growing food to feed the world,” but was also a “free lunch kid” at times.

In her senior year of high school, Cherney’s family lost their farm. She recalled the night the bank knocked on their door and told them they had 60 days to leave—and find a new home, jobs, careers, livelihoods.

“Moments like that—they stick with you,” she said. “Food security can disappear very quickly, even for people who are doing all the right things.”

As a college student, she also experienced food insecurity, even relying on SNAP benefits for a short time. These benefits helped her make ends meet, and she saw firsthand the difference that these critical supports make.

“SNAP gave me the hand up and help I needed to nourish myself and have adequate sustenance and nutrition as a college student to feed myself,” she said. “And with that I was able to get through college and ultimately succeed.”

Though she didn’t reveal her own story for many years, she heard someone refer to food bank visitors as “those people” and said, “I was once one of ‘those people,’ too.” Now she shares her personal story to help put a face on hunger and food insecurity.

“Food systems, at their core, are all about people,” she said.

She said discussions like the Food Summit offer ways to build infrastructure, not charity, and she appreciates the chance to be a part of the kinds of policy discussions that impact people’s lives.

Moving from the nation’s bread basket to its seafood basket was a change but she said she was intrigued by the challenge and the chance to explore something new when the opportunity presented itself.

After visiting, she said it was the Ocean State’s “culture of community” that won her over—she moved east, buying a house, making the cross-country move with her dogs, and launching a new job in a challenging year for the food security sector.

Food in the community

The day’s program included a panel on community food access led by URI nutrition professor Amanda Missimer, who helps lead URI’s Free Farmers Market on campus and URI Cooperative Extension’s Food Recovery for Rhode Island Program.

Jason Barbosa of Vicente Supermarket talked about being in the food business from the merchant side. Founded in Brockton, Massachusetts, the community grocery chain now has stores in Pawtucket and New Bedford. “Vicente’s is ‘a family for the families,’ he said, centered around bringing multicultural families their favorite products.

“Markets are where you see your neighbor,” he noted.

He spoke on a panel with community champions from Higher Ground International, the Elisha Project, and Meals on Wheels. All speakers shared a similar passion for the importance of their work, with food as not only sustenance, but something that brings people together.

Meghan Grady, executive director of Meals on Wheels, described how the program has grown since it started more than 50 years ago by URI gerontology grad Joe Brown, who established the program in 1969 to deliver nutritious meals to a small group of homebound older adults in Providence, going on to become one of the largest such programs in the country. The program has expanded to serve more at-risk populations and provide wellness checks and health education to improve clients’ overall well-being.

Henrietta White-Holder, founder of Higher Ground International, shared her origin story coming to the U.S. from Liberia. She founded the organization to provide life-changing services to immigrants and refugees in Rhode Island. White-Holder left the audience with the advice to always listen to what your neighbors need to provide the best support.

George Ortiz of the Elisha Project shared how his organization began in 2011, as Rhode Islanders responding to a need on a Providence street corner with sandwiches. The project has expanded its outreach to provide food, furniture, hygiene products, household supplies and clothing to families across the United States and is continuing aid in places like Guatemala, Cape Verde, and Portugal.

Ortiz noted that challenges need to be planned for: “The unforeseen is what you should be planning for,” he commented.

Building resilience

It’s been a year, Cherney acknowledged. While the federal government was shut down in November, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank served over 102,000 people just that month—there was no warning, just surges of need, she said: “We moved food faster than ever.”

But the sense of community she noticed in Rhode Island when visiting also showed up, she said: “Volunteers called in record numbers, food donations skyrocketed, donors sent money and community partners offered inspiration and collaboration. That’s what meeting the moment looks like.”

Cherney says her farm roots make her realize how fragile the whole ecosystem is and the importance of protecting not only individuals but food producers, too.

“The narratives about hunger need to change; that’s why this summit matters so much,” she said. “Resilience is shaping what comes next.”

This year’s Food Summit was sponsored by URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences, with support from sponsors Rhode Island Commerce, the Partnership for Research Excellence in Sustainable Seafood, and Vicente’s Supermarket. For more information on the annual Food Summit, contact ltownson@uri.edu. Subscribe to the Cooperative Extension email list to get updates on the next summit.