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In 2020, Massachusetts invested $36 million in grants to local food system enterprises, launching the Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of breakdowns in the food supply chain that resulted in food shortages at grocery stores, increased demand on the emergency food system, and heightened interest in the local food system and its ability to address these concerns, the program was intended to “ensure that individuals and families throughout the Commonwealth have access to food, with a special focus on food that is produced locally and on equitable access to food” and that “farmers, fisherman and other local food producers are better connected to a strong, resilient food system.”

The program awarded 369 grants to entities in 182 municipalities, ranging from schools and food pantries, to farms and fisheries, to supply chain businesses and municipalities. Less than a year later, many of those investments have been transformative for the recipients, allowing them to remain in operation through the crisis and emerge better prepared to remain competitive and resilient in the face of future challenges. The program’s success, and the fact that it was significantly over-subscribed, indicates the need for its continuation, and we urge lawmakers to providing funding for additional rounds of FSIG.

These stories are just a few examples of FSIG’s impact. They illustrate the value of supporting the local food system, and of the economic, social, public health, and environmental benefits such investments can return.

• Valley Malt, Holyoke
• Our Family Farms / Bree-Z Knoll Farm, Leyden
• Island Creek Oysters, New Bedford
• Framingham Housing Authority, Framingham
• River Rock Farm, Brimfield
• Quincy Asian Resources, Quincy
• GreenRoots, Chelsea
• Brockton Public Schools, Brockton
• Hilltown Mobile Market, Western MA
• Boston Public Market, Boston
• Mountain Girl Farm, North Adams
• Citizens for Citizens, Fall River

The Collaborative developed an analysis of the program and offered recommendations for future rounds of funding in a March 2021 report. We appreciate the resources invested in the program thus far, and urge lawmakers to provide funding to support additional rounds of FSIG, to support the ongoing need for a sustainable, equitable, and resilient local food system.

Citizens for Citizens has been serving low income residents of southeastern Massachusetts since 1965. They run fuel assistance, SNAP application assistance, food pantry, and many other social service programs. Before COVID hit, they were serving 250-300 households per month at their food pantry, but during the spring of 2020 at the height of the pandemic they were feeding 800+ households, and today are still seeing more need than there was before the pandemic. They anticipate that the number of food insecure households will increase when the state of emergency ends and there is a reduction in state benefit programs.

Citizens for Citizens was the main emergency food source in Fall River, as many that relied on elderly volunteers to operate had to close down during the pandemic. They were the only organization that stayed open throughout the pandemic, and provided 3-4 weeks of food to each pantry visitor, an increase from the allotment of 1-2 weeks of food distributed pre-pandemic. 

Citizens for Citizens applied to the FSIG program to purchase a refrigerated truck and pallet jacks. They were awarded $112,000 for the project. Backlogs due to COVID have delayed availability of the truck, but they hope to have it sometime this summer.

Once they have the truck, they will be able to distribute food throughout their service area to Taunton, Freetown, the Silver City Galleria and other towns, instead of requiring that households in need travel to Fall River. “We’re so thrilled about getting the truck,” says Liz Berube, the Executive Director. “Going forward it will be so helpful to our operations.” Thanks to FSIG, the program will help them reach more families in need and distribute more food.

Jen Barbeau has been farming on five acres in North Adams since 2015, raising chickens, ducks, goats for milk, fudge and soap, vegetables, and producing baked goods, pickles, jams, and more in an on-site kitchen. She has been a SNAP/HIP authorized farmer since 2017, and attends the North Adams farmers market. When the pandemic hit, many farmers’ markets in the Berkshires shut down, leaving many residents without access to local food.

Mountain Girl Farm received $35,000 from the FSIG program for a vehicle to deliver their products in and use for pop up markets, as well as hot and cold containers to keep products at temperature. As the only farm in North Adams that takes HIP, Jen sees the program as a significant way to improve their business. She had heard consistently from her customers that live in low-income housing that they were having a hard time getting to the farmers market. She set up a relationship with the housing authority to set up a mobile market to serve as a food access point for the tenants. She wants to increase the frequency of their pop up markets to be more accessible to the residents as a more full-time service, as most of the residents are seniors and do not have their own transportation, and public transportation is very limited. 

Because Mountain Girl Farm has partnered with local senior housing since they were authorized as a HIP farmer, continuing their service made sense when COVID hit. Jen was not able to go inside the senior housing buildings due to public health restrictions, so she instead delivered their preorders twice a month. 

In early June Jen received the vehicle, and also marked her first time selling inside the senior housing, and the customers were thrilled  to have her back. She is working to inform customers that she will be on site regularly thanks to her van purchased with FSIG funds.