|
|
Issue #42 | May 2023
Supporting collective action
toward an equitable, sustainable, resilient, and connected local
food system in Massachusetts.
|
|
|
|
Things you can do right now to
support systemic policy change.
|
|
Help make the state budget better
It’s state budget season! Watch for Senate budget debate to begin in mid-May - see article below for details. Right now is a great time to reach out to your Senators with requests for local budget needs.
Advocate for farm legislation
The Joint Committee on Agriculture is holding hearings on bills related to farms and fisheries, and your testimony is welcome! See article below for details.
Discuss APR
MDAR is holding listening sessions around the state on the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program in early May. Details are here.
Attend HIP Lobby Day
HIP Lobby Day will be back at the state House for the first time since 2019! Join farmers, food system advocates, and HIP consumers on May 9 to ensure the Senate level funds HIP with $24 million in their budget proposal! RSVP here.
|
|
|
|
Highlights of the
Collaborative's work.
|
|
Legislative Committee seeking testimony on agriculture bills
The legislature’s new Joint Committee on Agriculture has begun holding hearings, giving farmers and advocates an opportunity to weigh in on bills proposing policy changes to support the Commonwealth’s agricultural sector. Testimony can be submitted in writing, or via Zoom or in person during the hearings. The first was held on May 1, with the second and third scheduled for May 8 and 15, both at 11:00.
Bills on the docket for the May 8 hearing include several of the Collaborative’s priority pieces of legislation for this session.
An Act promoting equity in agriculture (S.41: Sen. Jo Comerford / H.87: Rep. Natalie Blais)
According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, BIPOC farmers are represented on only 2.3% of the Commonwealth’s farms, farms that steward just .3% of the land in farming and sell just .4% of the market value of agricultural goods in the Massachusetts, despite people of color making up 29% of the state’s population. These bills will establish a commission charged with developing recommendations for MDAR to equitably serve socially disadvantaged farmers to address these disparities.
An Act strengthening local food systems (S.42: Sen. Jo Comerford / H.88: Rep. Natalie Blais)
Farmers in Massachusetts struggle to remain sustainable, on average earning just 96 cents for every dollar they spend producing food. They must compete in the global marketplace while facing higher input costs, more restrictive regulations, and fewer supportive resources than farmers in other states. These bills will help support farmers, creating a “circuit rider” program at MDAR to coordinate support for farmers, establishing a $3 million Next Generation Farmers Fund to provide education grants, directing MEMA to incorporate food production capacity into disaster planning, giving MDAR needed tools to help protect farmland, and establishing a state food system coordinator position.
An act supporting the Commonwealth’s food system (H.92: Reps. Dan Donahue and Pat Duffy)
Many state agencies play roles in supporting and regulating the food system, but because of limited communication between them some of these efforts are duplicative, inefficient, or even contradictory. This bill will establish a state food system coordinator position to serve in an advisory capacity to all agencies to coordinate and inventory food programs, and develop and track metrics related to food system goals.
Other bills related to food justice, community fridges, seafood, and related issues are on the docket as well. The Collaborative will submit testimony and we urge others to review the bills under consideration and submit testimony if the issues raised are important to your communities and constituencies. We will post our testimony, when we submit it, at the bottom of our legislative activity webpage.
|
|
House budget complete, Senate action in May
The House Committee on Ways and Means released its FY24 budget draft and the full House of Representatives debated and passed its proposed budget at the end of April. While the debate ultimately failed to yield any new support for food system priorities, the original draft included some significant investments thanks to years of work from food system stakeholders.
The House budget includes $25,000,000 for the Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) program, matching Governor Healey’s proposal and representing the first time the program would be funded in an annual budget. A permanent FSIG would be a strong commitment to sustaining local food system enterprises, as FSIG has been oversubscribed in previous rounds of funding. It also included funding for universal free school meals, making permanent the commitment that Project Bread and the Feed Kids coalition has been campaigning for over the last several years.
Funding for HIP fell short, however, with just $15 million on offer compared to the $24 million requested by the Campaign for HIP Funding. New funding requests for food literacy, local dairy promotion, and other earmarks also were denied, as were requests for increases for the Buy Locals and MEFAP.
The budget process now moves to the Senate, where the Senate Committee on Ways and Means is expected to release its budget draft in mid-May, followed by amendments and debate. Watch the Collaborative’s social media and email calls to action for opportunities to advocate for important food system resources throughout the process.
|
|
Updates from the Ag Equity Network
The Ag Equity Network has been busy, working to raise the visibility of our members and issues related to equity in agriculture. And we’re having an impact! The Network has had multiple victories recently, such as successfully advocating for MDAR to reference equity in its mission statement, our bill being referred to the Joint Committee on Agriculture and scheduled for a hearing, MASSterlist featuring our network on their front page, and WCVB Channel 5 airing a segment about our Network and ag equity.
MDAR adds a commitment to equity in its mission statement
On Ag Day at the State House during a speech to lawmakers, stakeholders, and media, MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle unveiled the Department’s new mission statement: “The Department’s mission is to cultivate a robust and equitable agricultural economy, promote a safe and resilient food system, and preserve a healthy environment for Massachusetts farmers, animals, and consumers.” This not only shows the Department’s commitment to equity, but also holds the agency accountable while offering a stake-building mechanism with the BIPOC farming community. The Ag Equity Network’s comments on the Department's Draft Environmental Justice Strategies that we submitted in February advocated for this change, and we appreciate Commissioner Randle's leadership in making it happen. This is a massive win for our Network, for MDAR, and ultimately for ag in our State!
Ag Equity Bill hearing to be held May 8
Our bill, An Act promoting equity in agriculture (S.41/H.87) is making its way through the legislative even more quickly than it did in its first introduction last session! It has been assigned to the Joint Committee on Agriculture and is scheduled for a hearing on May 8 at 11:00 a.m. There is tremendous support behind the bill and it has been garnering media attention as well. The bill creates a commission of BIPOC farmers, legislators, advocates, allies, and organizations involved in this work who can advocate for resources, policies and technical assistance BIPOC farmers need to thrive. The commission would also work to collect data about profit, land ownership, rate of loans received, and other issues related to BIPOC farmers that will inform decision making, grants, and equitable policies. If you are interested in providing written, oral or both forms of testimony in support of this bill, please reach out to Norris Guscott.
Ag Equity Network in the news
The Ag Equity Network and our causes are receiving media attention! MASSterlist, one of the primary sources of Massachusetts political news for legislators, their aides, and other media outlets, featured our Network in their write up about Ag Day at the State House. Similarly, WCVB featured our Network, our bill, BIPOC farmers, and ag equity in general in an interview on their CityLine show on Earth Day. It was a great conversation and promoted concerns related to equity in agriculture in Massachusetts.
Our messages are getting to the folks who need to hear it. The Network is lifting up underrepresented voices, which is one of its founding principles and a core tenet of community psychology in regards to equity.
To learn more about the Ag Equity Network or join our ListServ, reach out to Norris Guscott.
|
|
Register for the Food Literacy Virtual Lobby Day on May 15
We hope to see many of you at the virtual lobby day for food literacy. This event will bring together advocates, share stories about the importance of food literacy, and give attendees the tools they need to advocate for a Senate budget amendment that will provide funding for state and district-level staff to bring food system education to more Massachusetts students. The virtual lobby day will be on Monday, May 15 from 4-5pm. To attend, register here.
|
|
|
|
Thoughtful insights about
food system issues.
|
|
Undoing corporate influence on food system governance
Large corporations are playing a larger and larger role in shaping what we eat and how the food system is governed, according to Who’s Tipping the Scales, a new paper from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. Agribusinesses and the trade associations that represent them have access to governmental bodies from the UN to the local level, and use that influence to shape policies that grant more favor to larger businesses, incentivize consolidation, and even influence scientific research. “Dominant firms can spend large amounts of money to directly lobby government policymakers and regulators at the national and international levels, in a bid to influence policies and regulations that affect their bottom lines.”
The result is often outcomes that fail to consider human rights, lack of accountability or consequences for companies that do harm, or that favor profit over public good. “For instance,” says the report, “the industry routinely lobbies against mandatory public health measures such as front-of-package labelling, taxes on ultra-processed edible products and sugary drinks, and restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children – pushing instead for ineffective voluntary approaches.” Processes that engage “stakeholders” are often window dressing, according to the report, when those stakeholder entities are dominated by the corporations. International and national efforts to curb corporate influence have been inconsistent and ineffective.
The report calls on social movements to “transform food governance power structures to better serve the public interest and uphold the rights of vulnerable populations, with implications for all governance actors.” It makes a number of recommendations toward re-imagining food system governance in the public interest, and cites groups like local food policy councils as having an important function in doing so.
The many Massachusetts organizations working toward systemic food system change through policy advocacy are doing just that. The Collaborative will continue to work with these organizations as they represent their communities and constituencies in building a more equitable and sustainable food system.
|
|
Job Posting Sites
Job Listserv
|
|
Upcoming Food System Events
Know of another great source of events or jobs? Let us know!
|
|
The Massachusetts Food System Collaborative envisions a local food system where everyone has access to healthy food, to land to grow food, to good jobs, and to the systems where policy decisions are made. Read more about our vision and our work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
