Nessa Richman MPP 1997 is the executive director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, where she works to create a more just and resilient food system. Through partnerships with community leaders, policymakers, and activists, Nessa drives environmental and social changes that transform food production and increase access. She shares her journey, her approach to systems change, and the ongoing influence of the HKS community.
What led you to this work?
I became interested in public service in high school, when I took a course in environmental science. Learning about the intricate systems that create and sustain life on earth—and the impacts that human activities have on them—pointed me in the direction of work that would have a positive influence on those activities. After college, while working as a VISTA volunteer at the Sustainable Food Center in Austin, Texas, I made the connection between environmental issues and social ones while helping to start a local farmers market in a low-income neighborhood of Austin. That’s when creating change in our nation’s food system became my specific public service pathway.
What do you hope to achieve? What are some successes?
My goal is to help create more just and resilient food systems. The dominant agribusiness-led food system is damaging the health of people and the planet. But there is nothing inevitable about the future path of food production, processing, distribution, preparation, and consumption. Food system transformation is possible through long-term collaborations rooted in justice and resilience. Changing food systems requires reshaping the ways food systems are governed. In particular, achieving sustained, systemic change at scale requires strong multisectoral governance—ideally engaging both governmental and nongovernmental actors. These efforts are key to achieving the social, environmental, and economic outcomes resulting from food system transformation.
Since the food system is complex, the impact of my work is multifaceted. Impacts range from positive outcomes in the lives of individuals who participate in civic actions led by the Rhode Island Food Policy Council to new laws and public investments in the state of Rhode Island that support a healthy food system, like farmland preservation, small farm success, development of local food distribution channels, creation of new markets that connect local food producers and harvesters to our state’s low-income consumers, and capitalization of infrastructure for disposing of food waste in ways that support a healthy environment and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
“[T]here is nothing inevitable about the future path of food production, processing, distribution, preparation, and consumption. Food system transformation is possible through long-term collaborations rooted in justice and resilience.”
Who or what inspires you?
I am inspired by the changemakers working in Rhode Island’s food system. When I visit the farms where refugee and immigrant farmers are growing culturally important food for their communities led by Southside Community Land Trust; when I go to the fishing port and see the small dayboats bringing in over 100 species of fish and shellfish with support from the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island; when I learn about our state’s indigenous agricultural heritage at education events held at Ashawaug Farm and the Tomaquag Museum—these moments remind me how local food is brought to our tables by some of the most innovative, hardworking, and caring people in our society. I’m also inspired by the 300+ other Food Policy Councils across the U.S., and many others globally, working to design better food policy for their communities.
How did your time at HKS influence you? What does the HKS community mean to you?
My time at HKS was instrumental in setting my professional path. My teachers challenged my thinking and introduced me to critical tools and processes. Those influences make a difference in my ability to analyze policy options, negotiate with other leaders, build coalitions, and much more. My fellow alumni inspire me to persist, think big, and to treat learning as a lifelong, joy-filled opportunity.