Yale Clinic Honored for Launching Legal Food Hub

The Conservation Law Foundation honored the Yale Law School Ludwig Center for Community and Economic Development on December 4, 2018, for its work establishing the Connecticut Legal Food Hub. The legal food hub is a free legal services clearinghouse that matches income-eligible farmers, food entrepreneurs, and related nonprofits to pro bono legal help.

The event honored the commitment of local heroes from every New England state for their efforts in protecting the region’s environment. Professor Anika Singh Lemar, Fellow Emilee Gaebler, and Josh Galperin, former director of the Environmental Protection Clinic, traveled to Boston to accept the award.

The program launched in March 2018 as a collaboration among the Conservation Law Foundation, The Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development (CED) at Yale Law School, and the Environmental Protection Clinic at Yale Law School.

READ MORE ABOUT THE LEGAL FOOD HUB

WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE PROJECT

“This work is important because food entrepreneurship is a key entry point to small business ownership for low-wage workers,” said Lemar, explaining the interdisciplinary aspect of this collaboration. “Local food production is key to a sustainable local economy. Because food is both a highly regulated and, typically, low-margin business, access to capable legal counsel is highly valuable to both farms and food businesses.”

Launching the legal food hub is just one example of the growing number of ways Yale Law students can engage with food and agriculture law. In recent years, students have launched a Food Law Society (Food Soc), courses have been available on food law and policy, and several clinics have taken on the subject in various projects.

CLF protects New England’s environment by using the law, science and the market to create solutions that preserve the country’s natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy.

The Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development provides transactional legal services to clients seeking to promote economic opportunity and mobility. CED’s clients include affordable housing developers, community development financial institutions, farms and farmer’s markets, fair housing advocates, and neighborhood associations.