Join MWFC In Taking Action for Food Equity this Budget Season!

As the Fiscal Year 2025 Massachusetts State Budget continues to make its way through the House and Senate, we at MetroWest Food Collaborative (MWFC) are continuing to advocate for the funding that will contribute to a just and thriving regional food system. With government program cuts and fiscal tightening looking like realities this year, we need to keep our voices loud for food equity.

Expand each section below to learn more about 1) why the State Budget matters for regional food access, 2) how the State Budget process works, 3) what is happening with the budget now, and 4) how you can take action for a budget that centers food equity.

WHY DOES THE MASSACHUSETTTS STATE BUDGET MATTER FOR REGIONAL FOOD ACCESS?

Here are just a few examples of how the MA State Budget impacts food access in MetroWest:

1. State funding makes local fruits and vegetables more accessible for low-income MetroWest residents. The Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which the state has funded since 2017, puts money back onto EBT cards when SNAP shoppers buy fresh produce from participating farm vendors. This makes foods available that might otherwise be unaffordable, and supports our local farms. Earlier this spring, Kali joined the annual HIP Lobby Day with our coalition partners to talk to our region’s legislators about the power of this program and urge them to fully fund it. See our post from Lobby Day here. 
   

2. State funding keeps MetroWest kids fed in and out of school, with programs like Universal School Meals and Summer Eats. We made huge strides last year by passing School Meals for All, but our state has to commit to fully funding this program in order for it to work as it is meant to.
   

3. State funding makes critical nutrition benefits available for legally-present immigrant residents in MetroWest. Many immigrants are unfairly barred from federal SNAP benefits, but state funding in last year’s supplemental budget temporarily restored these benefits. More funding is needed to keep these critical benefits available. 
   

4. State funding enables MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) service expansions that address gaps in transportation access to critical resources including food. Building stronger public transit is not only part of a more sustainable future, but directly connected to equity in our food system. 

How does the state budget process work? 

Toward the beginning of each calendar year, the Massachusetts Governor’s Office puts out an initial budget version. Between February and May, the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Ways & Means Committee each use this Governor’s budget as a basis to develop their own versions of the budget. After each Ways & Means committee puts out their budget, members of the respective chamber can propose amendments before the full chamber votes on the bill. 

Following approval of the amended version, the budget from each chamber heads to the Conference Committee, where three members of each chamber work out differences in the House and Senate budgets and develop a consolidated version. The full Legislature votes to approve or reject this budget. If approved, it heads to the Governor’s desk. The Governor has 10 days to approve or veto the budget, or submit amendments for consideration. The House and Senate can override a Governor’s veto with a two thirds vote in both chambers.

Learn more from the Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center

What is happening with the Budget now? 

In mid-April, the House passed their version of the State Budget. Unfortunately, this version fell short on many of the priorities we have been advocating for with our coalition partners. It failed to include full funding for HIP and Universal School Meals, and did not include any funding for State-Funded SNAP for Immigrant Residents, grants for local food policy councils, or food literacy in schools.

Learn more about MWFC’s 2024 budget and policy priorities here

Now, the Senate is in the process of finalizing their budget. The Senate Ways & Means Committee has already issued their proposed budget, and we are calling on Senators to support specific amendments for food equity. Here is a look at coalition budget priorities (“FY25 Ask”), where things stand in each version of the budget, and proposed amendments:

Item	FY25 Ask	Governor’s Budget	House Budget (final)	Senate Budget (proposed)	Senate Amendments (proposed)
Healthy Incentives Program	$25 million	$25 million	$15 million	$20 million	Amendment #21: Codifying HIP, no cost, Senator Tarr
Universal School Meals	$200 million	$170 million	$190 million	$170 million
State-Funded SNAP	$18 million	$0	$0	$0	Amendment #577:State-Funded SNAP, $12 Million, Senator DiDomenico fact sheet here
Regional Transit Authority Operations	$150 million	$150 million	$150 million	$214 million
MDAR Food Policy Council Grants	$250,000	$0	$0	$250,000
Food Literacy in Schools	$1 million	$0	$0	$0	Amendment #658: Food Literacy, $1 Million, Senator Lewis

How can you take action for a budget that centers food equity?

Do you have kids in school? Have you ever struggled to pay for the quality of groceries you want your family to have? Do you want to see thriving local farms? Do you want to have the option to hop on a bus to get your groceries? Are you an immigrant, or do you have immigrant friends or family? 

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, it’s time to speak up for food equity in the FY25 Budget! Right now, we are urging our Senators to support key Amendments to the Senate Ways & Means Budget. This is a critical moment in the process - if these amendments are included in the final Senate budget, we have a chance of seeing them make it through the Conference Committee and all the way to the Governor’s desk. 

The Asks:

• Urge your State Senator to support and advocate for the following amendments:
  

  • Amendment #21: Codifying HIP, no cost, Senator Tarr. This amendment mirrors the language in the HIP bill (S.85 / H.150), which will enact the program into law permanently, and re-create a trust for program funds. 

  • Amendment #577:State-Funded SNAP, $12 Million, Senator DiDomenico (fact sheet here). This amendment will restore state-funded SNAP to for legally present children, older adults, and persons with disabilities ineligible for federal SNAP (the benefits for 5,000 families ended April 30th).  

  • Amendment #658: Food Literacy, $1 Million, Senator Lewis. This amendment will support DESE in increasing the impact of the school wellness coaching program, which assists local districts in creating or planning wellness policies, and the FRESH grant, which supports farm to school and food literacy projects.
    

• Ask your State Senator to urge their colleagues in the Conference Committee to include the highest level of funding available for each of the MWFC priority areas listed in the table above when they are reconciling the House and Senate budgets.

TIPS TO GET STARTED:

1. Check out the MetroWest Food Collaborative’s policy and budget priorities, which we recently published on the website. This document will give you more information about the funding and legislation we are advocating for and links to learn more. 

2. If you don’t already know who your State Senator is or you need their contact information, you can find them here.

3. You can call or email. Be ready to state 1) your name and city/town of residence, 2) your ask: what amendments and funding you want them to support, and 3) why the item you are calling about matters to you personally. 

Thank you for being part of the work to build a stronger food system in MetroWest!

As always, please reach out at MetroWestFoodCollaborative@gmail.com if you have questions.

An Act Relative to Universal School Meals

This week, Kali testified at the statehouse in support of An Act Relative to Universal School Meals.

Massachusetts has always been a leader in education and health policy. This bill not only benefits children and families right now, but lays the foundation for a highly skilled workforce that will ensure the Commonwealth continues to lead into the future.

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to support and continue supporting this bill. Thank you to everyone who contributed quotes to include in the testimony!

Food Access Summit Hosted by the MetroWest food collaborative

On Monday, January 23rd 2023, The MetroWest Food Collaborative (the Collaborative) hosted a Food Access Summit to bring diverse voices to the table to look beyond emergency food, and to talk about the systemic changes that will make the food system stronger, more equitable and work better for everyone in the region.

Congressman Jim McGovern was present and shared his commitment to advancing food equity and justice on a national level and thanked the collaborative for the work that is being done by all those in the room. The Congressman spoke on food insecurity on the national level during the summit. “I think hunger is a political condition. We have the money, we have the food, we have the infrastructure, we have everything. We lack the political will.” He highlighted the role of policymakers as he continued, “We have a White House that has a strategy that they want to move forward on. They have resources they can funnel to local communities. I don't know what’s going to happen in two years, but we have them for two years, and we have a president who said that ending hunger by 2030 in this country is a national priority. We need to get stuff done.” Hopeful for the future, Congressman McGovern left all who were present with a call to action: “No more talk -- Let’s roll up our sleeves and let's make huge amounts of progress in these next two years!”

Amongst the 60 other guests present was Senate President Karen Spilka, Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan and Representative Jack Lewis, who shared regional data, perspectives on unique collaborations they’ve witnessed between Collaborative members, and recognition that policies are necessary to combat the issues of food insecurity within the region. Youth from Voices of the Community and Discovering Hidden Gems also shared first-hand experiences on the role of food access and justice and the impact on their lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing community hardships, especially the need to get food to residents that was healthy and culturally relevant. "Between the lingering effects of the pandemic and inflation cutting into family incomes, food insecurity presents a grave challenge to Massachusetts communities - particularly low-income communities and communities of color," said Massachusetts Senate President Karen E. Spilka. As of September 2022, 16.6% of households were food insecure throughout the Commonwealth. This is down from the height of the pandemic, but is still double the number of households that were insecure pre-pandemic. It is clear that hunger does not impact everyone equally. One in five households with children (21.5%) statewide struggle with food insecurity, according to data from fall 2022. However, food insecurity remains most prevalent in Latino/a (36.1%), Multiracial (35.8%), and Black (35.7%) households with children. The pandemic made it clear that there were gaps in the food system, and the idea of regionalizing efforts and collaboration became the quickest and most efficient way to address the issue, thus the Collaborative was born.

The Collaborative sits within the MetroWest Shared Public Health Services group, under the Public Health Excellence grant from Massachusetts DPH, with the Hudson Health Department serving as the fiscal agent. The Collaborative’s membership represents a wide range of sectors including municipal public health, public schools, emergency food providers, philanthropy, community health, social services, and community organizing. The Collaborative has fifty members across the Shared Public Health Region (Ashland, Framingham, Hopkinton, Hudson, Maynard, Milford, Millis and Natick) and envisions a thriving food system that delivers food justice for all. Food justice is a holistic and structural view of the food system that sees healthy food as a human right and addresses structural barriers to that right.

Along with advocacy efforts, the Collaborative also strives to increase healthy food access and are utilizing community engagement to excel in their efforts. Monthly calendars with detailed community-specific food resources are distributed throughout the region and on their website (www.MetroWestFoodCollaborative.org/find-food-1) and social media. The Collaborative’s member organizations also run mobile food pantries, farmers markets, food/clothing/supplies distributions and several other programs that promote and advocate for healthy food for all. These dedicated individuals bring many years of experience from living and working within MetroWest. None of these individuals or organizations alone have the capacity to look at the regional data, trends, and policies affecting the regional food system, but by bringing together their knowledge and relationships within the communities, they can begin to tackle systemic issues, such as reducing the SNAP Gap in the region.

“I am grateful to the Collaborative for the vital work they are doing in the region. Combating hunger is an economic justice issue that requires greater support and collaboration among organizations serving our communities. At the legislative level, we have been listening to our constituents and voted to extend free school meals, invest money into the Healthy Incentives Program (which allows people to use SNAP benefits at farmers markets), increase the minimum wage, and to strengthen our Commonwealth's universal health care," said Representative Jack Patrick Lewis. The idea that food insecurity is about political will and not the lack of food was a recurring theme at the summit.

Events such as the Food Access Summit aim to bring the Collaborative’s mission to light for both community members and stakeholders. “It was so exciting to bring together legislators and members of the Collaborative to open the lines of communication around ensuring food security within the region and opportunities to strengthen the regional food system,” said Kali Coughlan, the MetroWest Food Collaborative Coordinator.

The Collaborative would like to thank all who attended the Food Access Summit and who continue to support and participate in achieving our goal of food equity and justice for all! A special thanks to our speakers: Congressman Jim McGovern, Senate President Karen E. Spilka, Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan, Representative Jack Lewis, Jojo Dos Reis & Mabriely Cecilio of Voices of the Community, Nathalya Samaniego of Discovering Hidden Gems, Lino Covarrubia of Jewish Family Services of MetroWest, Jeanne Sherlock of the MetroWest YMCA, Anna Cross of the Metrowest Nonprofit Network and Kali Coughlan of the Hudson Health Department.