Connecting Affordable Housing, Conservation, and Farms

How can local affordable housing groups and local and regional conservation land trusts collaborate to better address the farmland access and housing affordability challenges facing Connecticut farms? This question was at the center of a Housing + Conservation: Farm Focus meeting hosted by the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity (LCCHO), an initiative of The Housing Collective, on November 6, 2026 in Warren, CT. This gathering at Warren Town Hall was the third meeting this year of the Northwest CT Affordable Housing + Conservation Collaboration.

Earlier this year, The Farmers Table hosted a listening session for farmers and others with agricultural ties. Several themes emerged from the discussion, including how a lack of affordable housing impacts the agricultural workforce in northwestern Connecticut. Additionally, research from LCCHO earlier this year found that many farm workers would qualify for affordable housing in our area, based on their annual incomes.

Two guest speakers highlighted tools and case studies that address farmland access and farmer housing. Amanda Branson of the Northwest CT Land Conservancy presented results from the 2021 Warren’s Farming Future study. This work led to an inventory of Warren’s working farms as well as outreach to farmers and farmland owners to identify opportunities for partnership that would preserve and expand access to farmland. One outcome of this study was a collaboration between the Tanner’s of Tanner Farm and the Warren Land Trust which will preserve this 198-acres as farmland. The Tanner family will continue to farm the land and live on the property.

Howard Rosenfeld of The Farmers Table, talked about farmland just down the road from the Warren Town Hall - how it was purchased and preserved for farmland and a home was built on the land for a future farmer. Earth’s Palate Farm, run by Renee Giroux, has now made that property their home and runs a successful farm business including a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation. After the meeting attendees toured the farm and spoke with Giroux. 

Meeting attendees broke out into small groups to discuss the presentations and potential next steps in their home communities. There was consensus throughout the room that this was the first step in an important conversation that deserves further attention in 2027! You can be part of these solutions. Email Lindsay Larson to join the Housing + Conservation mailing list to stay updated about what comes next.