Budget Tips for Food System Advocates (June 2023)
Advocacy Tips for Massachusetts Food System Stakeholders (May 2021)
Cultivating Good Food Policy: A guide to advocacy campaigns for Massachusetts food system stakeholders (September 2018)
This guide is a tool to help you make meaningful changes that affect your work and your community. Using these tools, you and your allies can contribute to creating policy that helps the food system thrive.
Local Food Systems: The role of municipal governments (September 2018)
The tool is organized by key municipal agencies and personnel, and introduces questions to consider in these roles as they relate to promoting food systems. Following these sections are additional guides to help cities and towns develop food system strategies.
Massachusetts NEFNE State Brief (Fall 2023)
A report on the state of the local food system in Massachusetts as part of the New England Feeding New England project, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and next steps to build a sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system.
Healthy Families, Sustainable Farms: Lessons learned from the Campaign for Healthy Incentives Program Funding (May 2022)
A report on the five years of the Campaign for HIP Financing, including what made this effort succeed and where opportunities exist for further work.
Food Literacy in Massachusetts: Local Successes, Statewide Opportunities (April 2022)
This report outlines examples of teachers and nonprofits teaching about agriculture, nutrition, culinary skills, and food justice, resources that exist to support this work, and what Massachusetts should do to expand food system education to all K – 12 students.
Reducing Food Waste in Massachusetts: Local Successes Informing Statewide Solutions (November 2019)
This report outlines existing state supports—including regulations, technical assistance, and funding—to encourage food-waste reduction and diversion.
Small Parcel Agriculture: Policies for the changing face of Massachusetts agriculture (March 2021)
Massachusetts has significantly more food production on parcels smaller than five acres than when agricultural land protection laws, regulations and policies were put in place. Changes to those policies are needed.
Massachusetts’ Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program: Summary, analysis, and recommendations (March 2021)
The FSIG program was mean to support food security enterprises during the COVID crisis. This analysis of the first round of the program leads to some suggestions for future opportunities.
Massachusetts’ Local Food System and Climate Change: Opportunities for mutually supportive policy (December 2020)
Climate change’s impact on the food system will be particularly acute in its effects on agriculture. Research, education, technical support, policy changes, and investments are needed to help farmers adapt.
Local and affordable: Massachusetts-grown produce less expensive than grocery store produce (August 2018)
The impression that fruits and vegetables sold at farmers markets are more expensive than produce that has been grown elsewhere and shipped to grocery stores is often a myth.
Massachusetts’ Local Food System: Perspectives on Resilience and Recovery (October 2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed many challenges within the food supply chain, and illuminated the importance of a strong local food system to meet the needs of food producers and consumers not just during crises, but at all times.
Sustainability and Equity in the Massachusetts Food System: Public sector progress, 2016-2018 (October 2018)
Three years since the state of Massachusetts released the MA Local Food Action Plan, this report finds that action by the legislature, the administration, and state agencies has resulted in progress toward some of the Plan’s goals, and that additional efforts are needed on others.
Sustainability and Equity in the Massachusetts Food System: A Progress Report (June 2018)
This report tells some of the stories of programs, projects, and people working toward the goals of the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan.
Massachusetts organizations that support and advocate for the food system
Legislator contact information (2023-24)
Connecticut Food System Alliance
Rhode Island Food Policy Council
New England Feeding New England
Sources for Massachusetts food system data
Advocacy for nonprofit organizations
