January 2026 Newsletter

State Legislative update

In December, the final report of the Special Commission on Agriculture in the 21st Century was published by Commission Chairs Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan and Senator Jo Comerford. The report details the state of agriculture in the Commonwealth, including how farmers struggle with high land prices, labor, climate disruptions and more. The report also includes a number of recommendations on the themes of; climate change and natural disasters, technical assistance and education, farm energy, economic and community development, and food security. Read the full report here.Thank you to the hard work of the Commission Chairs and members for producing a thoughtful report that will support our advocacy in the years to come.

Additionally, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs released a request for quotes to support the implementation of the Healthy Soils Action Plan. Responses are due Feb. 12th and there is a Bidder’s Conference scheduled for Jan. 14th, 2026. This is a contracted coordination role focused on supporting cross-agency implementation of the Healthy Soils Action Plan, including stakeholder engagement, project coordination, administrative support, and tracking progress across sectors (agriculture, forestry, wetlands, developed landscapes, etc.). Please share this RFQ. Thank you to the work of NOFA/Mass and Healthy Soils supporters who consistently raised the importance of this Plan, and its implementation.

The Campaign for Food Literacy aims to ensure all K-12 students learn about the food system in school including topics such as agriculture, nutrition, culinary skills, and food justice. 2026 Campaign Meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday at 4pm in alternating months of 2026 (Feb, Apr, June, Aug, Oct, Dec). Register for Campaign for Food Literacy meetings here.

The Urban Agriculture Network is a network of organizations and individuals practicing, advocating for, and interested in urban agriculture. We build relationships to facilitate better collaboration across the field, share skills and information to enhance our work, and advocate for policies and measures that support urban agriculture efforts. The Urban Agriculture Network is scheduled to meet on the 4th Thursday of each month at 1pm, with a break in the summer months. Our first meeting of 2026 will be on January 22 at 1pm. Register for urban agriculture meetings here.

The Local Food Policy Councils network includes around 25 active food policy councils and working groups from across Massachusetts. This network helps councils stay up to date on what others are working on and participate in skill building sessions, learning from each other about topics such as policy, advocacy, food policy council structures, grant programs, and more. The network will meet on 1/12 and then monthly in 2026 on the second Thursday.

The Food Waste Reduction network is a group of organizations and individuals helping prevent and reduce wasted food in Massachusetts including through advocacy and education, food rescue & donation, gleaning, composting, and more. The network’s meeting schedule for 2026 is to be determined. The network’s meeting schedule for 2026 is to be determined.

To sign up for the listserv for any of these networks to receive further updates, please request to join at the following links or reach out to Emily Fidanza.

• Food Waste
• Food Policy Councils
• Urban Agriculture
• Campaign for Food Literacy

If you have any questions about the network, please reach out to NorrisGuscott.

The Campaign for HIP Funding met on January 7th and will meet monthly for the first half of 2026 on the first Wednesday. The Campaign is advocating for level funding of $28.5 million in the fiscal year 2027 budget, and will hold its annual lobby day on March 26, 2026 in room 428 of the State House! Please save the date. The Campaign is also advocating for the passage of the HIP enabling legislation, H.222 / S.104, which were reported out to the Ways and Means Committees. Please send them an email expressing your support for these bills.

The Agricultural Advocacy Coalition will meet next on January 22nd at 10am to discuss the MassReady Act, FARM omnibus bill, and other advocacy opportunities. Please email Becca for meeting information.

NEFNE Local Food Count

Get Counted in the Local Food Count! On January 5, 2026, the Local Food Count was launched across New England. The New England Food System Planners Partnership invites partners to help capture data on local food purchasing. This effort supports a stronger, more resilient regional food system. Tracking local food purchases helps policymakers, funders and anyone who grows or moves food to understand opportunities to grow the regional food economy. Get Counted Now!

Please email Kristina Pechulis with any questions.

Introducing the Public Servant of the Month!

This month we are celebrating a public servant who has worked tirelessly to build a sustainable, equitable, resilient and connected food system in Massachusetts. Our first spotlight is on Mia Kortebein.

Mia Kortebein is the Healthy Incentives Program Director at the Department of Transitional Assistance, has worked for DTA for the past six years. She has led HIP’s two additions of new vendors in 2020 and 2022, led the implementation of the DTAFinder map, managed the August 2025 implementation of single swipe for HIP transactions, and is recognized nationally for her leadership in spearheading the largest nutrition incentive program in the country. Mia centers equity, balances the needs of SNAP clients and Massachusetts farmers, and works to improve program operations and communications. Prior to joining DTA, she worked as the HIP Program Coordinator for CISA, and in education.