Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety

This project outlines a plan to continue the current work of NECAFS with the addition of new activities based on stakeholder feedback and the evolving needs of our target audience. The long-term goal of NECAFS is to provide a sustainable, comprehensive food safety training, education, and technical assistance program that assists small- and mid-sized food producers and processors with FSMA compliance. Our overall objective is to sustain and nurture our established network foundation that supports a national food safety system that increases the understanding and adoption of established food safety standards, guidance, and protocols for those affected by FSMA. Our target audience includes owners and operators of small- and mid-sized produce farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small processors, or small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers in the Northeast region. Our proposal team is led by a collaborative group of co-investigators who provide disciplinary (produce, process, and infrastructure) and geographic diversity, and maintains leadership continuity since it is the same group of co-investigators from the existing NECAFS structure.We will achieve these goals by pursuing the following objectives:Sustain and Nurture Established Network Foundation and Successful ProgrammingBuild Capacity, Competency and CollaborationDevelop and Deliver Educational ProgramsNational Engagement and CollaborationEvaluate and Assess Progress and ImpactSustain Good Work