Plan Overview
Topic Area: Land
Topic Area: Inputs
Topic Area: Farming
Topic Area: Fishing
Topic Area: Processing
Topic Area: Distribution
Topic Area: Marketing
Topic Area: Food Access, Security, and Health
Topic Area: Workforce
Topic Area: Implementation
Plan Information
Category | Database entry |
Plan Region | Massachusetts |
Publication Date | 2015 |
Entry reviewed by original author | Yes |
PDF attachment | View Full Report |
Plan Title | The Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan |
Webpage | https://mafoodsystem.org/the-plan/ |
Author(s) | Massachusetts Food Policy Council (housed under MA Dept. of Agricultural Resources). The plan was developed for MFPC by: Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and Massachusetts Workforce Alliance |
Author Type | Food Policy Council; Government |
Region Type | State |
Funding Sources | State Government; Foundations |
Funders | Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Massachusetts District Local Technical Assistance Program; Henry P. Kendall Foundation; Boston Foundation; Eos Foundation; Island Foundation; John Merck Fund; Merck Family Fund |
Total Project Budget | $300,000 |
Plan Goals | Overarching goals for the creation of the plan:1. Increase production, sales, and consumption of Massachusetts-grown foods.2. Create jobs and economic opportunity in food and farming, and improve the wages and skills of food system workers.3. Protect the land and water needed to produce food, maximize environmental benefits from agriculture and fishing, and ensure food safety.4. Reduce hunger and food insecurity, increase the availability of healthy food to all residents, and reduce food waste. |
Intended Audience | Policymakers, larger food system community |
Plan Recommendation Structure | 10 topic areas, each with multiple goals. Each goal has a series of recommendations, and each recommendation has actions. The topic areas are: Land InputsFarmingFishingProcessingDistributionMarketingFood Access, Security, and HealthWorkforceImplementation |
Catalyst for Plan | The Massachusetts Food Policy Council was formed in the late 2000s, following a number of earlier food systems planning and assessment efforts. They undertook this planning process as part of their larger mission and in order to create “a general framework for goals and objectives that will improve Massachusetts’ agricultural economy, enhance the resiliency of the Commonwealth’s food system, and improve the nutritional health of the State’s population” (p. 13). |
Creation Process | A full description of the engagement process is included as an appendix (p. 321). “Stakeholder engagement for the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan was a broad, statewide process that directly involved more than 1,500 people in more than 80 meetings, presentations, and interviews in all regions of the Commonwealth. Another 1,000 or more people were indirectly engaged and received information about the planning process at public events and conferences” (p. 321). Key activities include:- 8 public forums across the state (400+ participants)- 8 statewide issue-specific working groups, which met a total of 29 times (270 participants)- 16 events held by partner organizations with information booths (1000+ engagements)- 242 low-income/BIPOC residents engaged- 120 interviews with members of municipal food policy councils, government agencies, farm and food businesses, hunger relief agencies, and other stakeholder organizations.- 32 Project Advisors who met eight times to provide general oversight and guidance to the plan.- 7 project status reports to the Massachusetts Food Policy Council (MFPC) and its Advisory Committee.- 2 rounds of comment opportunities on preliminary drafts of the plan |
Theoretical Framework(s) Employed | N/A |
Theoretical Framework(s): Additional Literature | Unspecified |
Development Timeline | Approx. 3 years. Statewide planning process began in 2013; plan adopted by the MFPC in December 2015. |
Implementation Strategy | The 10th and final section of the plan’s recommendations focuses on implementation (p. 145-151). These recommendations focus on governance and oversight of the food system and the plan’s recommendations. |
Implementation Timeline | Unspecified |
Evaluation Strategy | Pages 152-156 offer a table of possible metrics corresponding to each of the 4 overarching plan goals and mapped onto the 10 corresponding topic areas. |
International Development Framework(s) | None |
Current Plan Status | Active |
Government Adoption Status | Adopted |
Government Adoption Status (Notes) | The MLFSP published a public sector report (attached) outlining their progress since the plan’s adoption. See here, also: https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.145.201/ghl.292.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/psprog18.pdf Since then, a number of other updates were reported (via Winton Pitcoff, MA Food SYstems Collaborative): – First in the nation Food System Caucus established. Bicameral and bipartisan group of more than 2/3 of the legislature.- $59 million invested in SNAP incentive program to improve access and health outcomes for SNAP users and sales for local farms.- Threshold for compliance in Food Waste Ban lowered, diverting more excess food from waste stream.- New $61 million grant program for capital investments in food system enterprises.- Development of statewide Farmland Action Plan.- Governor established Food Security Task Force to address food needs during COVID.- First new investment of state resources in UMass Extension in many years for four new staff positions.- New state grant program for local food policy councils launched. |
Supplemental Documents | View Supplemental Documents |