State hires first ‘food chief’

SUE ANDERBOIS has been hired as the state's first "food chief." / COURTESY LINKEDIN
SUE ANDERBOIS has been hired as the state's first "food chief." / COURTESY LINKEDIN

PROVIDENCE – The state has hired its first-ever “food chief” to coordinate a statewide food plan and connect the public and private sectors to work toward creating a more robust local food system.
The state has tapped Sue AnderBois, policy analyst and Rhode Island coordinator for the Boston-based New England Clean Energy Council, to take over the new position, which is funded for two years through private grants from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, The John Merck Fund and Main Street Resources, according to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. AnderBois’ salary is between $69,000 and $78,000, according to the job listing, and she’s scheduled to start working the second week of June.
“She’s a great asset to have,” said Rose Amoros Jones, DEM spokeswoman. “Only 1 percent of what we grow here is consumed here and we have some very aggressive goals.”
Indeed, the state has joined a regionwide coalition to try and produce 50 percent of the food it consumes by 2060. Currently, New England produces less than 10 percent of what it consumes.
AnderBois, also treasurer of the R.I. Food Policy Council, is a board member of Farm Fresh RI and serves as vice chair of the Providence Environmental Sustainability Task Force. While working directly under DEM, Jones says AnderBois is also expected to work closely with the Health Administration, R.I. Commerce Corp. and other external stakeholders in the nonprofit and business community.
Her responsibilities include drafting a statewide food plan, “to identify cross-cutting strategic priorities, effectuate new and innovative policies, develop public-private partnerships, align government functions, and identify areas for new investments,” according to the job listing.

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