The Monadnock Region of southern New Hampshire represents a pretty typical New England tableau. Cheshire and Hillsboro counties have been described as “overwhelmingly average” in terms of economic and demographic data.
In 2001, however, the town of Troy, NH lost a key component of its social and economic community: the Troy Mills textile factory. The nineteen acre site and it’s complex of buildings, which have represented the drive, ingenuity and enterprise of this small town for over a century, remain empty today.
At the same time, Troy and the Monadnock region struggle with their share of the national duel crises of the lack of access to high quality, inexpensive food by families with lower incomes, and a simultaneous epidemic in obesity, malnutrition, and heart desease, particularly felt in underserved areas. Within the region, of all the food consumed annually, only 12 percent is grown or produced locally.
The Monadnock Region represents one of the strongest manufacturing traditions and economies in the state, set within a rural landscape with an equally established agricultural legacy. The team developing the Troy Mills Sustainable Food Center intends to build on the region’s deep roots in agriculture and light manufacturing to tackle two problems: (1) the availability of fresh, high-quality food and (2) local economic development.
The Troy Mills Sustainable Food Center is dedicated to demonstrating and facilitating practical solutions for the development of sustainable local food systems by integrating technology, local resources, and businesses to become more efficient and less wasteful.