Jesse Rye is the Executive Director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island. He has been with Farm Fresh RI
since 2012, and in that time has helped to scale and support the work of Farm Fresh both in
Rhode Island and New England. In the last few years, Jesse helped the organization to navigate
the major changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic while moving the organization to a
newly constructed food hub facility adjacent to downtown Providence.
Originally inspired by a Brown University student project, Farm Fresh Rhode Island was founded
in 2004, incorporated in 2006, and received 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 2007. Today the mission
is as it was from the start — to grow a local food system that values the environment, health,
and quality of life of the farmers and eaters in our region.
All of the programs — Farmers Markets, Farm to School and Community Education, Bonus
Bucks, Hope’s Harvest, Market Mobile, and Harvest Kitchen’s culinary job training program —
increase the availability and affordability of locally sourced foods, reduce food waste on local
farms, and share knowledge of how fresh, local ingredients fit into a healthy lifestyle.