Massachusetts Food System Stories for Change

Story Gathering

Purpose: To uplift the important work of our food system partners, and strengthen the case for policy changes that support an equitable, sustainable, resilient, and connected local food system.

We believe stories are a powerful and necessary tool to support positive policy change. Policy change occurs when supported by research and by constituent stories and experiences. The Collaborative’s legislative priorities and policy advocacy efforts are informed by our network of food system partners. TWe invite  you to contribute your voice and story to help strengthen our collective advocacy efforts

We have frequently asked network members to share testimony throughout the legislative cycle. This project is an effort to compile stories in one centralized place that can continuously be drawn upon, while also serving as a resource and inspiration for our network. 

We will be gathering stories about the following topics which relate to our current legislative network and campaign priorities

• Agricultural Equity
• Federal cuts
• Food literacy
• Food policy councils
• Food waste
• Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)
• Urban Agriculture

Share Your Story

We would love for you to share a short form story to be added to our public Story Map.

Submit your story here!

As time and capacity allows, we hope to gather more in depth stories from interested individuals and partners. You can indicate your interest in this through the story submission form.

More Information

Storytelling Principles

As we build our story map, share stories in our advocacy efforts, and seek to gather more in-depth stories, we are committed to: 

• Recognizing and identifying story sharers as they choose
• Clearly communicating who the audiences are and how the story will be used
• Respecting a story sharer’s right to say no or opt out at any point; removing stories upon request
• Offering edits and suggestions to strengthen clarity of the story while honoring and maintaining the story sharer’s voice and control over their story. 
• Identifying if stories shared are substantially out of alignment with MFSC’s values or current priorities or could cause harm, and opting not to publish if so 

In what formats can I share a story?

You can share your short-form story in writing, audio message/voice recording, or video recording. 

Note: if you prefer to share your story in a voice recording or video, but would like to remain anonymous, we can transcribe your story. 

How long should my story be?

Short-form stories for our Story Map should be about 2-3 paragraphs or 1-2 minutes (voice or video recordings). 

What makes a “good” story?

1. It’s a story that you want to contribute to our collective advocacy efforts
2. Broadly speaking, a few things are helpful for sharing stories for advocacy/with legislators:
   • An identifiable subject – who did this impact? It might be you, an individual you know in a specific role, a specific neighborhood or community, etc.
   • Impact – specific lived experience as the result of a policy or that demonstrates the need for a policy
3. If you are sharing a story from your work that mentions another organization or individual, they have given informed consent to be included.

What happens after I submit my story?

The Massachusetts Food System Collaborative staff will add the story to our Story Map. Located here.

At times, we may have clarifying questions or suggestions for light editing to support clarity of the story for all readers. When this is the case, we will reach out to discuss. You will have a chance to approve the final story before it is shared. 

If you select that you are willing to share a more in-depth story, we will add you to a running list. Depending on our capacity and current policy advocacy opportunities, the MFSC team will select up to 1 story/month to expand upon. We will reach out to set up an interview/storytelling session. The process will involve your edits and approval before sharing. You can opt out of this process at any time. More details about this opportunity coming soon. 

How will stories be used?

By submitting your story via this form, you consent to have your story: 

• Added to this Story Map by an MAFSC staff member 

With your consent, stories will be used in the following ways:

• Quoted in MFSC’s newsletter, testimonial letters to legislators, social media posts, etc. as appropriate
• Shared in meetings with legislators & executive branch members to support advocacy

If, at any time, you wish to revoke consent for your story to be shared and/or would like it removed from the Story Map, you can reach out to an MFSC staff member. 

How will storytellers be identified?

Stories will be shared with or without your name/organization name depending on your selected preference upon submission. If this preference changes at any point, reach out to the MAFSC team.

How will the Story Map be shared/promoted?

The Story Map and longer form stories on our webpage will be promoted regularly on our LinkedIn page. We will also share the links in our monthly newsletter and occasionally in communications via our network listservs.

View Stories

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