Increasingly institutions are procuring local foods to meet customer demand and to align with organizational goals. While they are robustly engaged in this work, food service operators may not be actively promoting their efforts. A seasonal harvest program can meet their distinct need to do so.
With ready-to-use materials that highlight the foods they buy and intentional messaging that conveys the value of local and seasonal eating, seasonal harvest campaigns can help institutions elevate their work to customers and leadership and increase awareness of the far-reaching impacts of their food service activities.
Resources
Our comprehensive guides offer step-by-step instructions, research, stories, and resources for developing a successful season harvest program.
How to develop a seasonal harvest program
This step-by-step guide includes everything you need to know to develop a seasonal harvest program.
How to work with institutions
Selling to institutions can feel like a puzzle for small or mid-sized producers and processors. The components of this report illuminate potential issues and help guide producers and processors to make decisions that help lead to an ongoing relationship with an institution.
- How to connect with hospitals and other institutions.
- What to do once a relationship has been established.
- Distribution options for small- and mid-sized producers.
- Key lessons for working with hospitals.
Inspiration: Nourished by New England
More than 40 health care facilities from across New England, 19 farmers and food businesses, and dozens of community partners from food hubs to processors united through Nourished by New England. This innovative seasonal harvest program connected health care food service with local food suppliers. Throughout the two-year program, participating hospitals spent more than $5 million on local foods serving healthy food to patrons and supporting from New England farmers and fishers.
Nourished by New England made it easy for health care to support their regional food system and local producers. Hear stories of promising new farm-to-tray partnerships, learn from resources developed for health care facilities and food producers interested in selling to them, and get inspired to discover initiatives that could nourish your community.
Celebrating Nourished by New England
Marketing materials
Nourished by New England participants received access to beautifully illustrated materials to promote their efforts and to educate their patrons about New England’s seasonal harvest.
Logo
Posters
- Program poster
- Spring posters
- Summer posters
- Fall posters
- Winter posters
Point-of-sale displays
- Spring point-of-sale displays
- Summer point-of-sale displays
- Fall point-of-sale displays
- Winter point-of-sale displays
Table tents
- Spring table tents
- Summer table tents
- Fall table tents
- Winter table tents
Screen images
- Spring screen images
- Summer screen images
- Fall screen images
- Winter screen images