HIP Funding in the FY20 Budget
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The fiscal year 2020 budget process is nearing completion, and with it a determination of how much funding will be available for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). The House proposed $4.5 million in its budget for the program, and the Senate proposed $6.5 million. The conference committee, made up of the Ways and Means Committee chairs, vice-chairs, and ranking minority members from each chamber is now working on a reconciled budget to send to Governor Baker for his approval. The Collaborative has asked campaign members to call legislators to support the Senate’s proposed $6.5 million in the budget. Discussions are still ongoing, so calls are still welcome!
If passed, this would be a significant increase over the FY19 appropriation of $4 million, thanks to the efforts of Coalition members who visited, called, and emailed legislators asking for their support. Still, we are concerned that $6.5 million will not be enough to operate HIP year-round, given increasing demand - more than $210,000 in incentives were earned in just the first week the program resumed operations in late May, following a nearly three-month suspension. A number of legislative champions have indicated that they are willing to pursue supplemental funding as needed to avoid a suspension, and the Collaborative will issue updates if action is needed on such an ask.
To celebrate the resumption of HIP operations, Red Fire Farm in Granby hosted
Senator Eric Lesser and Representative Dan Carey
for a tour
.
"We need this program to be year-round,” said Lesser. “It’s been very successful. We have tens of thousands of people participating and farms across the state participating, but there’s been gaps." The Collaborative will be inviting more legislators to farms and markets in their districts as the season progresses so please don't hesitate to get in touch with Campaign Manager
Rebecca Miller
if you’d like help planning an event, or just to let us know you’re doing one so we can share it on social media!
Our collection of HIP stories and videos continues to grow - submissions from Worcester’s Regional Environmental Council and Mill City Grows in Lowell are
online
. These stories are powerful tools to educate legislators about the importance of the program. Please let us know if you have stories to share.
Finally, the Boston Globe recently
covered HIP
and how it has helped farmers as they recover from an unusually wet spring. The Springfield Republican also ran an
article
about HIP’s return to the Forest Park Farmers Market.
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Save the Date: 3rd Annual Food System Forum - November 22 in Worcester
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The 3rd Annual Food System Forum will be on Friday, November 22, 2019 at the Hogan Campus Center at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Plan to join us for a day of learning new skills, celebrating successes, and collaborating across disciplines to improve the MA food system. More information and registration information to follow.
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Climate Change and Agriculture
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As a follow up to the Collaborative’s March gathering to discuss how to support farmers in climate change mitigation and remediation, we asked meeting attendees to rank the importance of the 30 land and farming recommendation summaries from the
MA Local Food Action Plan
related to helping farmers and fishermen cope with climate change. These recommendations ranged from better government support, to increased monitoring of conditions, to expanded sales support for fisheries.
From the 20 responses to the survey, the recommendation that ranked most highly is Strengthening support systems for agriculture by increasing funding for government programs, making loans and grants more accessible, and through public-private investments in ag related infrastructure (
Farming recommendation 3.1 and 3.2
) followed by Help farmers to more effectively mitigate damage to their farmland caused by man-made or natural events and disasters through expanded crop insurance programs and technical assistance (
Land recommendation 1.7
). The list of relevant Food Plan recommendation summaries and ranking from our survey can be found
here
.
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New Steering Committee Members
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Maria Moreira
, Executive Director and Co-Founder of World Farmers, has been mentoring beginning farmers since 1984. She is a former dairy farmer who developed and operated a value added cheese making business to sustain her family’s dairy operation during its twenty-five year existence. She directed marketing for the Ethnic Crops Program and the Beginning Farmer program at UMass Amherst from 2002 to 2012 and was instrumental in accessing the USDA Know Your Farmer Know Your Food high tunnel pilot program for socially disadvantaged farmers in MA. Maria served as FSA County Committee Advisor for nine years and has been a member of the USDA Beginning Farmer & Rancher Advisory Committee, a member of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau since 1985, a Board Member of National Immigrant Farming Initiative and a Steering Committee member for the Worcester Food Hub. Maria is currently a Board Member of Rural Coalition and a member of NSAC. Maria is excited to join the Steering Committee of MFSC and support their efforts to implement the MA Local Food Action Plan, particularly in the areas of food access, support to farmers and farming, land access, and marketing.
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Amanda Kinchla
is an Associate Extension Professor at UMass who supports the food industry by identifying, developing, and providing extension-based learning through outreach activities. Amanda believes that food safety should be addressed during all stages of the food product development cycle. Amanda has collaborated with several food-processing partners (MA Department of Agriculture, Cape Cod Extension, CommonWealth Kitchen, and the Greenfield Food Processing Center), has served as a Co-PI (Leadership Team) to the FDA supported Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety to provide technical support and educational resources throughout the 13-state region, and serves as a food safety expert on the MA Food Policy Council. Amanda has a MS degree from Rutgers University and 15 years of experience in industrial food safety and research and development from concept to commercialization.
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Liz Wills-O’Gilvie
serves as chair of the Gardening the Community board, Chair of the Steering Committee of the Springfield Food Policy Council, and is a PVGrows Steering Committee member. She is a school garden assistant coordinator where she
expands the Springfield Public Schools garden program and increases STEM curriculum alignment. She is a teacher and helps
organizations across the country build the school and community garden movement. Her work in the food system, public health and community building across racial and socio-economic lines is built on 25 years of experience working on Community Economic Development efforts in marginalized communities. Her work in Springfield is personally driven by her families’ nearly 90 year history of living in the city where she now lives.
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Meeting of Local Food Policy Councils
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Since last spring, the Collaborative has been bringing together more than a dozen local food policy councils from around the state on a regular basis to share updates and resources and discuss common issues. At one meeting the group learned about RecyclingWorks in MA’s resources for communities interested in reducing food waste. More recently, a panel consisting of speakers from the School Nutrition Association, the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and MA Farm to School discussed how organizations can work with school nutrition departments to improve school meals.
One of these meetings of local food policy councils included a discussion on an increase in cultural conflicts at farmers markets. As a result of this discussion the Collaborative held
two workshops
on creating a culture of inclusion at farmers markets to begin to discuss and address the issue.
The meetings have also provided a forum for local food policy councils to share their experiences writing Community Food Assessments, with particular attention on their efforts to fairly and accurately represent a diversity of experiences. Many of the completed assessments
are listed here
.
We welcome communities that are considering or beginning a food policy council in the region to participate in the meetings. Please reach out to
Brittany Peats
if you are interested in joining this group.
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The legislature's primary focus this spring has been the budget for Fiscal Year 2020. The House and Senate have both submitted their proposals, and are now working to reconcile differences between the two. Along with HIP (see earlier article) the Collaborative focused on two budget asks -- funding for the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory, and for the development of a set of food system metrics to measure progress toward the goals of the Plan. Dozens of organizations supported these proposals and we were able to secure a significant number of cosponsors for each, but unfortunately neither chamber included either item in their proposals.
A number of other key food system budget items did make it in to one or both chambers’ proposals, though, including funding for Buy Local Organizations, MA Farm to School, and operating costs for the MA Food Trust, along with an increase in funding for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP). All of these items are under consideration by the conference committee, which will release its report soon for approval by both chambers and the governor.
As the budget moves closer to completion, committees are holding more hearings on policy bills. Of the food system bills
we are tracking
, bills regarding the development of a farmland action plan, breakfast in the classroom, the establishment of a new farm to school grant program, and closing the SNAP gap have all been heard and are under consideration by their respective committees. Other hearings are likely to be scheduled soon, and we will let coalition members know when there are opportunities to submit written or oral testimony.
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Mobile Food Vendor Working Group
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The Massachusetts Food System Collaborative and the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards have formed the Mobile Food Vendor Working Group, with representatives from several municipal health departments and inspectional services departments, and from UMass Extension and the MA Department of Public Health. The Working Group was created in response to a recommendation issued by the
Working Group on Farming and Public Health
, which in turn was created in response to a recommendation in the
MA Local Food Action Plan
. The Working Group’s sixth recommendation is: 'Partners will explore a third-party certification program for farmers market vendors.' The group has expanded the discussions from farmers market vendors to all mobile food vendors, including food trucks.
The goal of the Working Group is to improve the system by which mobile vendors apply for permits from the towns in which they operate to reduce the administrative burden for Boards of Health and vendors, and ensure food safety. The group will also work to increase communication between state and municipal agencies and share common challenges and best practices. The group hopes to identify areas in the state to pilot strategies to improve the current system. For more information, or to participate, contact
Brittany Peats.
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Updates from around the MA Food System
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First Awards Announced for Massachusetts Food Trust Program
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The Massachusetts Food Trust Program, a public/private partnership overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and administered by the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund and Franklin County Community Development Corporation announced its first awards. The initial funding awards include a total of $760,000 in both loans and grants to support seven healthy food projects.
Vicente’s Tropical Grocery
in Brockton, (right) which offers food that is culturally appropriate to the city, received support to renovate their original store location.
Quabbin Harvest
in Orange will restructure and expand their food access program.
The Food Project
in Roxbury received a grant for technical assistance to explore demand and best practices for a produce distribution network for corner stores in the Dudley Square neighborhood.
Wellspring Harvest
, a worker cooperative in Springfield, received support for their hydroponic greenhouse.
Adams Hometown Market
in Adams received help to reopen a store where a Big Y supermarket recently shut down.
The Common Good Project
in Boston will expand their farm for wholesale and retail distribution and expand their seasonal Dorchester based farm stand.
The Farm and Community Collaborative
, serving Plymouth and Bristol counties, will acquire a commercial truck and increase food access via two Gateway City farmers markets in New Bedford and Brockton.
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Food is Medicine State Plan
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The
Massachusetts Food is Medicine State Plan
was released on June 18. Food is Medicine (FIM) refers to services that respond to the critical link between nutrition and chronic illness, such as medically tailored meals and produce prescription programs. By addressing nutritional needs within the context of health care, FIM interventions play an important role in preventing and/or managing many of the chronic conditions that drive health care costs across the Commonwealth, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, certain cancers, HIV, and others. This Plan assesses the need for FIM interventions by examining the town-level burden of food insecurity, vehicle access, and diet-related chronic diseases across MA, and examines the access to these interventions. Finally, the Plan develops a strategy to increase access and capacity of Food is Medicine interventions by identifying sustainable funding models and opportunities for replication or expansion.
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Food System Champion:
G
roundwork Lawrence
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Groundwork Lawrence
works to strengthen their community through improving the environment, offering youth education, supporting local businesses, and increasing the health of residents. Much of their work has centered around healthy food: making it available in Greater Lawrence, ensuring that it is affordable, and teaching children and adults how to prepare it. Groundwork Lawrence operates three summer farmers markets, one winter farmers market, a half-acre local farm, and 11 community gardens, and raises subsidies for its share-a-share CSA program, thereby connecting the community to locally grown produce. There is a waitlist for all the gardens, so the organizations hopes to create new plots in the future.
Groundwork Lawrence offers
cooking classes
in their new kitchen space with a focus on creating healthier versions of culturally relevant foods. They offer classes on site for youth, adults, and families as well as at other locations including the Lawrence Public Schools, charter schools, and the Boys and Girls Club. Going forward, they plan to expand their course offerings.
Healthy on the Block/Bodegas Saludables
is a healthy corner store initiative coordinated by the City of Lawrence Mayor’s Health Task Force and Groundwork Lawrence and funded by Lawrence General Hospital to reduce obesity in the community through working with corner store owners to offer healthy options. The initiative has worked with bodegas to highlight fresh produce by bringing it to the front of the store and displaying it in provided baskets. In the process, the initiative discovered that the owners could benefit from technical assistance so they connected them with TA and workshops from Mill Cities Community Investments. Healthy on the Block continues to strengthen small businesses in the community and make healthy food available at more locations in Lawrence.
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Food System Changing Tool: Advocacy & Lobbying 101 for Food Policy Councils
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“
Advocacy & Lobbying 101 for Food Policy Councils
,” is a resource for food policy councils in the US created by The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. It includes legal information on how councils are allowed to influence policy decisions by local, state, and federal government as well as case studies to illustrate how councils have successfully and legally influenced government policy.
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MA Food System News We're Reading
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- This spring has been cold and wet, delaying many local crops. One bright spot is HIP, which started up again on May 25: “Kurth credits the HIP customers with boosting his business so much that “some days at Copley and Boston Public Market, HIP accounts for 50 to 90 percent of the sales.”’
- A Common Application for those applying for SNAP and MassHealth would simplify the application and help close the SNAP Gap.
- An overview of efforts to reduce food waste in MA - including the Commercial Food Waste Ban, food donation, and food waste prevention - as well as what still needs to be done.
- Island Grown now has an in-vessel composter, allowing them to compost more food scraps on Martha’s Vineyard; last year they composted 120 tons using wind row composting.
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Upcoming Food System
Job Postings and
Events
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Job Posting Sites:
Job Listservs:
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Upcoming Food System Events:
Know of another great source of events or jobs?
Let us know
!
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Massachusetts Food System Collaborative |
www.mafoodsystem.org
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