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Issue #46 | Sept 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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Testify in support of HIP!
The legislature’s Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities will host a hearing on September 12th starting at 10 am that includes the HIP enabling legislation (S.85 / H.150)! Please sign up to testify virtually or in-person here by 2 pm on September 8th. We recommend testifying about the impact that HIP has had on your farm, family, or community, and what having the program in law would mean to you. This hearing isn't about HIP funding, it is about enacting legislation that would put HIP into law long-term. You can email written testimony to JointCommittee.Children&Families@malegislature.gov before or after the hearing if you cannot attend the hearing on the 12th.
Invite your state legislators to your local farmers markets and farm stands this fall
The Campaign for HIP Funding encourages HIP advocates to invite your state legislators to your local farmers markets and farm stands! The long-term success of HIP depends on legislators understanding what HIP means to your community. A simple tour of your market or farm stand is a low-stress way to demonstrate the value of HIP to local vendors and customers. Reach out to Becca Miller by responding to this email if you would like assistance.
21st Century Agriculture Commission to hold hearings
The legislature’s Commission on Agriculture in the 21st Century will hold virtual hearings on September 21st and October 19th, both starting at 10 am. Please add these dates to your calendars! More information on the hearing topics and how to virtually testify will be shared closer to the hearing dates.
Testify in support of food literacy!
The legislature’s joint committee on education will hold a hearing on October 10th for the An Act to Promote Food Literacy (S.310 / H.601) which would add food literacy to the list of topics that students should learn about in school and help teachers by identifying high quality lessons, providing professional development, and establishing a trust fund. Please provide written or oral testimony to show how this would support students in your community. Reach out to Zachary Schwartz at Zachary.Schwartz@mahouse.gov for more information.
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Highlights of the
Collaborative's work.
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Farm Tour demonstrates need for long-term resiliency planning
Congressman McGovern’s annual farm tour brought much needed attention to the challenges Massachusetts farms and farmers have faced this season. Over two days in August, a group of federal and state legislators, agency staff and non-profit leaders toured 10 farms in four counties. Matthew and Brady, owners of Pine Hill Orchards in Colrain reported an expected a loss of 80% of their apple crop and 100% peach crop loss due to the late frost and deep freeze this winter; in a normal season they harvest between 40-45,000 bushels of apples and were expecting about 15,000 this year. David, Maggie, and the entire Natural Roots Farm team in Conway shared that their river bottom fields had been completely washed out three times in 11 days in July. They now have their fields planted in cover crops and are serving their CSA customers with produce purchased and donated from other area farms. Angie Facey, owner of Bree-Z Knoll Farm in Leyden, led a tour through their new milk processing plant that was partially funded by the Food Security Infrastructure Grant program, and discussed the need to allow whole milk in public schools, a federal issue.
Natural Disaster Relief for Farmers Update
The Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund, led by the United Way of Central Massachusetts, announced relief funding awards on September 7th at Hollis Hill Farm in Fitchburg. 214 farms were awarded funding after the fund received donations from more than 600 individuals, organizations and businesses. Future funding rounds will depend on additional funds raised and continuing needs of farms.
The state’s Natural Disaster Recovery program for agriculture is open for applications. If your farm was affected by the February deep freeze, May late frost or July rainfall and flooding, you may be eligible for financial assistance. Applications are due by 4 pm on Friday September 29th. The application can be found here.
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The Collaborative is hiring an Executive Director
Eos Transition Partners is conducting the search for MA Food System Collaborative’s new Executive Director. The Collaborative seeks a visionary leader and systems thinker with a deep understanding of food system issues and commitment to addressing racial inequities. Our vision is 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. Please reach out to the Collaborative’s Eos Transition Partners consultant, Catherine Bradshaw at cbradshaw@eostransitions.org or 203-494-9370.
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Changes at the Collaborative
After five years at the Collaborative, Brittany Peats left the Collaborative at the end of August to take a position in the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. While we are excited for Brittany as she takes on this new challenge and great work closer to home, we will all sorely miss her thoughtful leadership, warmth, and unparalleled facilitation skills. During her time with the Collaborative, Brittany spearheaded the Local Food Policy Councils Network, the Food Waste Reduction Network, the Campaign for Food Literacy, the annual Forum, and countless other projects, publications, reports, and articles. Brittany has been with the Collaborative from its early days and her influence will continue to be felt in every corner of the Collaborative. Keep an eye out for job posting soon as we look to fill this critical position.
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Save the date for the 2023 MA Food System Forum
This one-day event will be held on Friday, December 8th at Holy Cross College in Worcester. We look forward to strengthening the statewide food system community, discussing important topics, and developing skills so we can all advocate for a sustainable, equitable, resilient local food system.
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The Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School in partnership with Natural Resources Defense Council, ReFED, and the World Wildlife Fund, have released a new toolkit; Achieving Zero Food Waste, A State Policy Toolkit. The toolkit explores 15 policies across six categories: building and broadening organic waste bans, opportunities to promote food donation, supporting organic waste processing infrastructure, developing end markets for compost, preventing food waste upstream, and other governmental action. The report also includes model state legislation that could be adopted by advocates and state policymakers. Read the full toolkit here.
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Inspiring work being done by some
of our friends in Massachusetts.
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Thoughtful insights about
food system issues.
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Join the NH Food Alliance network starting on September 8th for their 2023-2024 Network Café Series to explore A Regional Approach to Food System Resilience, a four-volume report of foundational food system data commissioned and released by the New England State Food System Planners Partnership. The report lays out an unprecedented compilation of the most current New England food system data and frames the data intentionally to inspire conversation and action to reach the report’s proposed goal of New England producing and consuming 30% of its food by 2030.
During each Network Café, the lead researcher for each volume of A Regional Approach to Food System Resilience will join the meeting to dig into the data. NH’s September Network Café features Ellen Kahler, the Executive Director of Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSF) and co-founder of the New England State Food System Planners Partnership, to introduce the report, share her hopes for what comes next, and discuss New Hampshire’s unique role in a regional approach to food system resilience. This introductory session will serve as a foundation for the remaining Network Cafés in the series and help the NH Food Alliance network partners begin to think about using the report’s data and findings in strategic planning, fundraising, advocacy, and other work building vibrant food systems in New Hampshire and New England.
Register for the September 8th, 12 - 1pm Café and the rest of the series here.
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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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