Capital Region FRESH

What is Capital Region FRESH?

The Capital Region FRESH project is a community-engaged research project that aims to quantify environmental, nutritional, and health impacts of the food recovery and redistribution system in the Capital Region, and ascertain impacts under proposed policy scenarios.

Objectives

Through the FRESH project we will:

1) Advance our current understanding of the complexities of food systems by mapping a food recovery and redistribution system, including food surplus/waste flows and stocks, and by identifying levers of influence in the system.

2) Generate novel insights about the interactions between food recovery, redistribution and production by creating a dynamic actor map and dynamic material flow and life cycle assessment models capable of identifying feedback loops, multiplier effects, and overall resilience.

3) Identify interventions capable of simultaneously maximizing environmental, nutritional and health benefits, particularly for a mid-size metro area.

Through this project, we build bridges among local organizations working on improving the sustainability of the local food system. We expect that this project will help encourage food system level transformations, leading not only to positive health outcomes, but also a more environmentally sustainable produce recovery system in the Capital Region with new economic opportunities.

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