To ensure that all students in grades K-12 have access to food system education in school so they can learn about agriculture, nutrition, food justice, and culinary skills.
Background
Many MA students do not have access to comprehensive or often any food system education. Food literacy is not included in most state frameworks or tested on the MCAS and when teachers do want to teach about it, they can’t always find high-quality, culturally appropriate, curriculum-aligned lessons. Activities in the classroom, gardens, and cafeteria require sustained funding and resources that many schools do not have.
Promoting food literacy has benefits for student learning & health outcomes, civic engagement, and more.
- Food and garden-based lessons can help improve education outcomes and knowledge of concepts in math and science (Hovland, Sprague)
- When students learn about nutrition and food they eat more fruits and vegetables and experience better health outcomes (Scherr, FoodCorps, Evans)
- Learning about food production and agriculture gives students an appreciation for where their food comes from and the environment (Chawla, Wells)
- Learning about food justice helps students understand inequities in the food system and become more civically engaged (Gray)
We envision every student in Massachusetts being food literate by learning about nutrition, agriculture, culinary skills, and food justice at school – through their classes including science, social studies, math, and health, and in the cafeteria, school gardens, and community.
To be food literate means:
- to understand how food gets to our table, and why what we eat matters,
- to make informed decisions about food,
- to understand impact of food choices & the food system on health, environment, economy, and
- to understand how that impact is experienced differently and inequitably.
Our strategy focuses on advocating for policy and practice changes that reach all K-12 public schools and ensure widespread, equitable access to food system education.
Legislative Goals
An Act to Promote Food Literacy
Sen. Jason Lewis S.392 / Reps. Andres Vargas and Mindy Domb H.735
- Add food literacy to the list of topics that students should learn about in school.
- Ask DESE to identify high quality lessons and provide professional development activities.
- Create a Food Literacy Trust Fund to help schools fund this programming.
- Enable DESE to convene a working group to guide the implementation of food literacy.
Campaign Progress
- 2022 – A steering committee of 16 food literacy experts helped to guide the campaign for food literacy by providing input on policy priorities, participating in events, and contributing to outreach efforts.
- 2023 – bill was filed and the Campaign was officially launched
- FY24 budget – won $1 million to continue to support teachers in implementing food system education, and support professional development for educators and field trips for students via the FRESH grant and school wellness coaching program.
- FY25 budget – won $250,000 to continue to support DESE’s school wellness coaching program, which creates district-level policies that support the furthering of food literacy, and supporting Mass Farm to School’s request of $750,000 for the FRESH grant, which includes professional development for educators, field trips for students, and more.
- January 2025 – bill was re-filed in the 2025-26 session.
- FY26 budget – won $250,000 to continue to support DESE’s school wellness coaching program.
View the 2025-26 Food Literacy Ask Sheet
Get Involved
2025 Coalition Meetings
March
April
June
August
October
Advocacy Opportunities
Active
- Sign-on – Join the list of organizations who’ve signed on to show their support for expanding food system literacy for all K-12 students.
- Share a story – The Collaborative has set up a landing page to gather stories. The purpose of this project is to strengthen the case for policy changes that support an equitable, sustainable, resilient, and connected local food system, while uplifting the important work of our food system partners.
Upcoming
- Provide testimony – provide written or oral testimony when the bill is heard by the legislature’s joint committee on education on September 16, 2025!
Resources
Resources to expand food system education at your school
Learn More
For more information please reach out to Emily Fidanza at emily@mafoodsystem.org
