New Hampshire
Senate weighs farm-to-school pilot program • New Hampshire Bulletin
Senators are considering creating a state-run “farm to schools” program to increase the amount of local produce that goes to school meals.
House Bill 1678 would create a two-year pilot program to reimburse 10 public schools that purchase food from New Hampshire farms. The program would cover purchases of dairy, fish, pork, beef poultry, eggs, fruits, vegetables, cider, and maple syrup, and would allow schools to buy from food hubs, distributors, or directly from farms.
Under the bill, schools would be reimbursed for 33 percent of what they spent. The state would spend $241,000 of general funds to fund the program.
The legislation passed the House earlier this month, 191-182, and is being considered now by the Senate Finance Committee.
Supporters of the bill say it would help support farms and local food systems while also boosting nutrition in New Hampshire schools. But opponents, who include many Republicans, say the state should not be spending its own dollars on the effort, pointing to a $559,000 federally funded program the state approved last year that serves more schools.
The bill would create a selection committee of people with knowledge of New Hampshire agriculture and school meal services, and would require that school districts apply to participate. Ten schools would qualify for the pilot program; the bill specifies there must be one from each county.
The committee would be required to select a group of schools with a diversity in size, location, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The bill also requires the Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food to track the overall number of farms participating, the number of organic and sustainable farms that participate, and other metrics determined by the committee, and to provide a report every year to the Legislature.
Nikki Kolb, operations director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire, argued the bill would help farms and the rest of the state by strengthening local food production. And she said it would assist New England Feeding New England, a cross-state coalition of farms that is striving to get local farmers producing 30 percent of the region’s food by 2030.
“Over the last four years, we’ve seen how a largely import-based food economy can be affected by external conditions, leading to food insecurity,” Kolb said in testimony to the House earlier this year. “… If the pilot program goes well, it will set the stage for broader institutional purchasing in future years.”
Rep. Dan McGuire, an Epsom Republican, countered that the state should not be spending so much money for just 10 school districts. He said the federally funded approach last year was more sustainable.
“There’s better uses of general funds,” he said at a Senate hearing Tuesday.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire 6-year-old tests positive for cocaine, cannabis; mother faces multiple charges
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A New Hampshire woman was charged with child endangerment and witness tampering after her daughter ingested a THC gummy and later tested positive for cannabinoids and cocaine, according to officials.
The incident prompted a police investigation after the state Division for Children, Youth and Families notified the Nashua Police Department Nov. 3.
According to a release shared by Nashua Police Department, detectives learned the 6-year-old had been hospitalized following the ingestion and that her mother, Paige Goulet, allegedly told a witness not to cooperate with investigators.
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The Nashua Police Department took custody of Goulet and formally charged her. (Nashua Police Department)
“While at the hospital, the juvenile victim tested positive for the illegal drugs, cannabinoids, and cocaine,” the release said.
“Detectives learned that Goulet had told a witness not to cooperate with the police investigation, and detectives determined that Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her juvenile daughter.”
Goulet, 30, was arrested Monday by Meredith police on a felony warrant for tampering with witnesses involved in the Nashua police investigation.
GUATEMALAN NATIONAL FREED WITHOUT BAIL IN THC GUMMIES CASE THAT SENT 12 MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS TO THE HOSPITAL
Nashua police determined Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her daughter. (Wang Zhao/AFP/GettyImages)
She was taken into custody by Nashua police and formally charged.
She is facing charges of tampering with witnesses and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the release.
FLORIDA PARENTS ARRESTED AFTER 4-YEAR-OLD TWINS ALLEGEDLY SHOT THEMSELVES
Paige Goulet was taken to the Nashua Police Department and charged with witness tampering and child endangerment after her daughter’s THC gummy ingestion. (Google Maps)
Goulet was released on $300 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Nashua District Court Jan. 7.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Meredith and Nashua police departments for comment.
New Hampshire
It’s been 50 years since turkeys were reintroduced to N.H. A survey will check on the population. – The Boston Globe
In recent years, the survey has helped identify about 910 flocks on average, with about 16,488 birds reported per year.
Those numbers can fluctuate based on winter conditions. The birds are more likely to congregate at backyard feeders during winters with heavy snow and limited food, driving up reported numbers. On the other hand, when birds can easily get the food they need in the wild, reports tend to decrease, according to Daniel Ellingwood, a wildlife biologist and turkey project leader at New Hampshire Fish and Game.
He said the state has been conducting the survey for about 20 years. This year, the survey started in December and will run through March.
Right now, the turkey population in New Hampshire includes about 48,000 birds, Fish and Game estimated.
But just over 50 years ago, there weren’t any turkeys in the state at all. In fact, Ellingwood said, turkeys had been absent from New Hampshire’s landscape for about 125 years — starting in the 1850s and lasting until a successful reintroduction effort began in 1975.
Populations were diminished to the point of disappearing because of human activities like hunting and deforestation.
Then, in 1975, the state launched a successful effort to bring the turkeys back.
“A single flock from southwest New York was captured and translocated to Walpole, New Hampshire in ’75,” Ellingwood said. “That population took hold and began to expand.”
That first flock included about 25 birds. In the following years, other flocks were relocated to New Hampshire, and the turkey population began spreading to other parts of the state.
At this point, the birds have made a remarkable recovery.
“The population is largely stable and healthy,” Ellingwood said.
This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
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