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Issue #39 | Feb 2023
Supporting collective action
toward an equitable, sustainable, resilient, and connected local
food system in Massachusetts.
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Things you can do right now to
support systemic policy change.
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Gather cosponsors
Attend a briefing
Attend a briefing on Thursday, February 2 at 11:00 a.m. for stakeholders about food system legislation under consideration this session. Register here.
Comment on EJ Policies
Share about FSIG
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Highlights of the
Collaborative's work.
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Launching the Campaign for Food Literacy
The Collaborative’s campaign for food literacy in K - 12 schools in Massachusetts reached another milestone in January, when Senator Lewis and Rep. Vargas filed An Act to promote food literacy (SD.1348 / HD.2580). Thank you to these lawmakers and to everyone who has participated in this campaign thus far.
Currently, some Massachusetts students are learning about the food system in science, social studies class, wellness, culinary arts, horticulture class and others, as well as in the cafeteria, school garden, and the community. But because food literacy is not included in most state frameworks or tested on the MCAS, not every student has these opportunities. All students should have access to food system education in school, learning about agriculture, nutrition, food justice, and culinary skills so they can live healthy, independent, thoughtful lives.
These bills would add food literacy to the list of topics that students should learn about in school and would enable the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to convene a working group of educators and others with expertise in the food system to guide the implementation of food literacy. To help teachers implement these new, engaging lessons, these bills will ask DESE to help identify appropriate materials and curricula, provide professional development activities, and establish a Food Literacy Trust Fund to help schools fund this programming.
Please join us for a virtual launch event on Monday, February 6 at 4pm. We will hear from supporters and ensure that everyone has the information they need to confidently reach out to their legislators to ask them to co-sponsor these bills. Please register here.
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Urban Ag Coalition has new facilitators
Zoey Sloate and Ludia Modi are the new facilitators for the Massachusetts Urban Agriculture Coalition. The Coalition is a network of urban ag practitioners from around Massachusetts who participate in regular conversations and workshops meant to support this sector through relationship- and skill-building opportunities, network building, and policy advocacy. Anyone interested in participating should contact Becca Miller (rebecca@mafoodsystem.org), who staffs the Coalition.
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Ludia is The Food Project’s North Shore Regional Director and is an alumna of The Food Project’s North Shore youth programs and served professionally as a Youth Development Specialist and Food Corps supervisor. Ludia brings a background in nonprofit leadership and community partnerships from past positions at CityYear and Bridgewell, as well as a Masters in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University. Ludia has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by the North Shore community, and a talent for building, developing, and leading diverse teams with a mission-driven and detail-oriented approach. Outside of work Ludia loves going on long walks with her dogs, crocheting, and eating delicious food at local restaurants. |
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Zoey is a program coordinator at CISA, where she manages CISA’s Local Food for All work. She provides one-on-one technical assistance and workshops to farms, local food businesses, and farmers’ markets on SNAP, HIP, food access, other food benefits programs, general operations, and more. Much of this work involves building strong relationships with partner organizations and connecting opportunities to various organizations to further work towards an interconnected, resilient local food system together. Zoey studied Sustainable Food Systems & Operations, Marketing, and IT at UMass Amherst.
We want to thank Lydia Sisson and Liz O’Gilvie for getting the coalition off the ground and working to sustain and build the coalition since spring of 2020. They led more than twenty skill-shares on various topics from pandemic response to grant writing to farm planning. The Collaborative deeply appreciates their generosity in sharing many lessons and their expertise from their experiences with the broader urban agriculture community. We will continue to work together to build a sustainable, equitable, resilient local food system.
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PFAS and agriculture
PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are chemicals used in clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, and other products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. They are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment, and can accumulate in soils and water. Studies have found that exposure to these chemicals may cause health problems in humans.
As more research is done on these chemicals and the impacts they may have on health, it is essential that consideration be given to the role farmers can play in protecting the food supply and keeping it safe. Legislation has been filed in the Massachusetts State House this session based on last year’s Interagency Task Force report that would ban the use of most PFAS by 2030, establish a funding mechanism for PFAS remediation, and create a communication campaign to educate consumers about the chemicals, among other actions.
In other states that have passed similar legislation the impact on farmers has been significant, with some farmers losing their farms due to new regulations, and many farmers losing access to products they had long depended upon for production. Protecting public health must be a priority, and any steps taken to address PFAS in Massachusetts must also offer farmers resources to cover the costs of testing, remediation, and technical assistance to reduce the use of PFAS; protection from liability for standard agricultural practices; and funding to mitigate any loss of income or property.
The Collaborative and several other stakeholder organizations worked to draft a bill entitled An Act protecting our soil and farms from PFAS contamination that will address these concerns, and we will be advocating throughout the legislative session to ensure that farmers are at the table during any debates regarding state action to address PFAS.
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Evidence of the impact of advocacy
Farmers and other food system stakeholders committed hundreds of hours participating in two planning processes in recent years, leading to the release of two important documents meant to guide state policy.
First, the Resilient Lands Initiative is a vision and plan that will guide actions to conserve, restore, and care for the land to benefit both nature and people. RLI centers justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as climate change throughout its recommendations, and proposes steps the state can take related to urban agriculture, the green economy, and other issues that will protect and improve the quality of life for Massachusetts residents by conserving and enhancing the health of the forests, farms, and soils.
Also released in January, the Healthy Soils Action Plan provides an assessment of the condition of our soils and a blueprint for how we can effectively conserve and protect, restore, and properly manage our soils to improve the vitality of nature around us and the health and quality of life of our residents. Rather than focusing primarily on agriculture, the Plan endeavors to protect, manage, and regenerate soil health across a diversity of ecosystems, land uses, and soil types.
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Inspiring work being done by some
of our friends in Massachusetts.
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Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership
The Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP) is one of nine Buy Locals in the state. SEMAP serves Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk counties. They work to support local farmers through business assistance, one-on-one technical assistance, workshops, networking events, and marketing. They help to educate consumers about the importance of buying local food and provide tools to make it easier to do so, including a directory of local farms, farmers’ markets, fisheries and more. SEMAP also helps connect farmers and low-income families by promoting the use of HIP at farm stands and farmers markets throughout the region.
Their 16th Annual Agriculture and Food Conference will be held virtually on Feb 26. The keynote speaker will be Neftalí Durán, a chef, advocate, organizer and educator with a focus on building an equitable food system and indigenizing foodways who has worked extensively in the Massachusetts food system and is based in Holyoke. Workshops for farmers, backyard gardeners, homesteaders, and local food supporters will include how to retain employees, how to make and cook value-added meat products, as well as the opportunity to learn more about culturally relevant crops from three farmers who immigrated to the US.
SEMAP will host several in-person events this year, including networking opportunities that build off of the virtual conference, and the monthly twilight grower series which are farmer-to-farmer skill shares hosted at farms throughout SE Mass. Susan Murray, SEMAP’s new Executive Director, brings her experience and background in farming, and is especially looking forward to connecting with farmers in the area and learning what they need. She noted that the pandemic, inflation, supply issues, and drought over the last few years have shifted many things for farmers, and she hopes to create programming that addresses these new challenges.
One particular challenge farmers face is the undervaluing of local food. Many farmers struggle to sell enough food at a high enough price to make ends meet. SEMAP hopes to continue educating consumers to better understand the value of local farms, not just for producing food, but for their positive environmental, social and community impact. Through this, they aim to encourage more people to shop local, and build a strong local food system in southeastern Massachusetts.
SEMAP is continuing to provide support to those who are interested in applying for a Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) through reviewing draft grant applications and providing letters of support. Recorded info sessions from 2022 and 2023 and notes are available. For more information, reach out to Shannon Hickey at shickey@semaponline.org.
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Thoughtful insights about
food system issues.
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Food Security Is Health Care: Early Outcomes on Reducing Hunger Through Health Insurance
A report from Project Bread outlines the impact of a new program to address food insecurity through the healthcare system as part of MassHealth's Flexible Services Program pilot.
In 2020, MassHealth launched its Flexible Services Program which allowed Medicaid dollars to be used on “non-medical” expenses to address two social determinants of health — food insecurity and housing stability. Since April 2020, Project Bread has piloted the Flexible Services Program with MassHealth and Community Care Cooperative (C3), an accountable care organization, in 14 Massachusetts health centers. If a patient is determined to be food insecure and they have a physical or behavioral health diagnosis, they are referred to the program. Project Bread then reaches out to the patient to conduct an intake assessment to understand their barriers to accessing healthy food and create a plan to address them. Services offered include: grocery store gift cards, transportation assistance, kitchen supplies and appliances, cooking classes, nutrition counseling, referrals for SNAP and WIC, referrals to food pantries, and referrals for medically-tailored meals.
Project Bread has helped over 5,000 patients through the program thus far. At the end of the six-month program, 25% of patients were no longer food insecure and average fruit and vegetable consumption increased by a half serving per day. SNAP participation among patients increased from 64% to 72%. However, even when receiving SNAP, patients requested additional support to purchase and access food and most patients living with food insecurity need more than food – 82% of program participants requested kitchen supplies and appliances (e.g. refrigerators).
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Job Posting Sites
Job Listserv
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Upcoming Food System Events
Know of another great source of events or jobs? Let us know!
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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.
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