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Issue #30 | May 2022
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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Budget updates
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its FY23 budget - see how food system priorities fared and what comes next, here.
Food systems and the election
Organizations interested in engaging legislative candidates on food system issues are invited to a training on strategies and tactics for doing so on May 17 at 11:00 am. Register here.
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Highlights of the
Collaborative's work.
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The Collaborative Publishes ‘Food Literacy in Massachusetts: Local Successes, Statewide Opportunities’
In dozens of schools around the Commonwealth, students are learning essential lessons about nutrition, food production, culinary skills, and other elements of the food system. Those lessons help them lead healthier lives, connect with their culture and the cultures of their friends and neighbors, and consider and prepare for careers in the food system. But this patchwork of efforts doesn’t serve all students equitably, and the educators who lead these local projects are often unsupported in their efforts. To better serve all students and families - and in doing so help support public health, local agriculture, and the state’s economy - Massachusetts should make a statewide commitment to food system education in schools.
This report is a key component of the Collaborative’s campaign to ensure that all students in grades K - 12 have access to food system education in school so they can learn about agriculture, nutrition, food justice, and culinary skills. Because food literacy is not included in most state frameworks or tested on the MCAS, it can be challenging to include these concepts in the curriculum.
The Collaborative is now convening a coalition of teachers, nonprofit educators, school administrators, parents, students, and community members who will work to expand food system education. The coalition will identify key recommendations that resonate most with the coalition, and advocate for actions to implement those recommendations. Sign up here to join the Coalition to Expand Food System Literacy.
For more information on the report or the coalition, please contact Brittany Peats at brittany@mafoodsystem.org. We are more than happy to present about the report and the campaign to expand food system education for your organization or conference.
Photo: Backyard Growers
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2022 MA Food System Forum: Back in Person!
Please save the date for the 2022 Food System Forum on Wednesday, October 12 in Sturbridge. The Collaborative is looking forward to gathering food system leaders together in person!
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Inspiring work being done by some
of our friends in Massachusetts.
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Mass Ag in the Classroom
Mass Ag in the Classroom (MAC) is a volunteer-run nonprofit which supports teachers in providing students with lessons about agriculture. MAC has created some MA-specific lessons and has access to the lesson database offered through National Ag in the Classroom, with which MAC is affiliated.
They offer workshops for teachers on various agriculture topics at which farmers and producers present their work and MAC offers supporting lessons and materials to enable teachers to integrate the topic into their classroom. Since 1996, MAC has offered more than 250 workshops on farms across the state bringing on-farm education experiences to more than 3,000 educators. Recent virtual workshops have enabled teachers to learn about maple sugaring, raising turkeys, growing cranberries, and maintaining apple trees directly from farmers. The next teacher workshop will be Simple Machines...Can You Find Them on a Farm? on May 26 at 6:30pm.
Mass Ag in the Classroom also provides mini-grants to schools to support classroom and school garden projects. Since 1994, MAC has awarded almost $266,000 to 401 agricultural projects planned and carried out by educators across Massachusetts. Previously funded schools have built school gardens, maintained cranberry bogs, and raised chicken eggs. The next deadline is September 1, 2022.
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Thoughtful insights about
food system issues.
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Massachusetts Food System Map from MAPC
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s food systems map compiles frequently-requested Massachusetts food systems data, including food access demographics, food assistance and food retail locations, and public transportation. Users can easily produce customized community-level maps which can help build an understanding of the local food systems and related health and demographic information. Maps can inform community food assessments and community health needs assessments, and can provide data for grant applications or annual reports.
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Food insecurity is higher than before the pandemic
According to Project Bread’s analysis of the US Census Household Pulse Survey, the rate of food insecurity in Massachusetts, which dropped due to many pandemic relief programs, is now higher than it was before the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, 8.9% of households with children in Massachusetts were food insecure; by May 2020, that number had jumped to 23.6%. By April 2021 that number had declined to 12.5% because of many emergency federal and state benefit programs. But in March 2022, coinciding with the end of many of those programs, 21% of households with children faced food insecurity.
BIPOC households are recovering from the pandemic significantly slower than white households. In October 2021-March 2022, 15.3% of white households with children were food insecure compared to more than 33% of Black households with children and 27.6% of Latino/a households with children.
These numbers demonstrate that the impact of the pandemic on the economy is still being acutely felt by low-income households, that emergency measures taken to help alleviate food insecurity during the pandemic were appropriate and effective, and that more investment is needed to continue those supports. The Collaborative is committed to comprehensive policy solutions that address the root causes of food insecurity, and supports programs like HIP, universal school meals, closing the SNAP gap, and others.
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Upcoming Food System Events
Know of another great source of events or jobs? Let us know!
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Job Posting Sites
Job Listserv
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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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