
MAPC
Smart Growth & Regional Collaboration
HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS
Affordable healthy food. Working farmland. Thriving food businesses. Sustainable fisheries.
These are all vital to the health of communities and residents, and they’re aspects of a strong food system. Cultivating them on the local level requires thoughtful planning and policy and an understanding of how the food system functions as a whole.
MAPC helps municipalities with all aspects of food system planning, whether that means identifying policies and steps to increase healthy food access, keeping farms farming, growing food business opportunities, or getting local vegetables into schools.
QUESTIONS?
To learn more about healthy food access and food systems planning at MAPC, contact Heidi Stucker at hstucker@mapc.org or 617.933.0739.
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Food Systems Planning
Led by the Public Health Department, our food systems planning work integrates land use, economic development, and the environmental perspective to help municipalities with:
- Supporting community health and food access
- Getting more vegetables and fruits into schools
- Preserving agriculture
- Encouraging urban agriculture
- Connecting transportation systems to food retail
- Growing food business opportunities
To learn more about how MAPC can support your community’s food system planning, contact Heidi Stucker at hstucker@mapc.org or 617-933-0739.
Food Systems Planning
Led by the Public Health Department, our food systems planning work integrates land use, economic development, and the environmental perspective to help municipalities with:
- Supporting community health and food access
- Getting more vegetables and fruits into schools
- Preserving agriculture
- Encouraging urban agriculture
- Connecting transportation systems to food retail
- Growing food business opportunities
To learn more about how MAPC can support your community’s food system planning, contact Heidi Stucker at hstucker@mapc.org or 617-933-0739.
Our Work

Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan
In 2015, MAPC and its partners completed the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan on behalf of the Massachusetts Food Policy Council. The Plan lays out statewide goals for increasing agricultural and seafood production, food security, workforce training and employment, and protecting natural resources, and serves as the guide for state food policy priorities and action. The Massachusetts Food System Collaborative was established at the completion of the Plan, and coordinates its implementation.
Learn more about the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan here.
Local Fresh Food Purchasing For Schools
MAPC partners with school districts across Eastern and Central Massachusetts on procuring healthy and regional food for students. Through this, schools are sourcing more local produce and seafood – streamlining students’ health and making them better learners. Learn more about our work here.
Promoting Health Through Urban Agriculture
Cambridge is developing an urban agriculture policy to allow for beekeeping, henkeeping, farming, and related urban agriculture activities in the City. Through these policies it hopes to promote equitable availability of healthy food, among other benefits.
MAPC’s Public Health Department partnered with the Cambridge Public Health Department to conduct a health lens analysis (HLA) of its urban agriculture policies. The HLA assesses the potential social, environmental, nutritional, and economic impacts of the proposed policy, and makes recommendations for implementing the policy to maximize benefits and equity. Read the Health Lens Analysis of Urban Agriculture Policy.
Everett: Advancing a Healthy and Just Food System
MAPC worked with the City of Everett, Everett Community Growers, and other project partners to conduct a community food assessment and developed an action plan to guide food system policymaking and aligned efforts in Everett. Through a participatory process with city representatives and community and food system stakeholders, the project assessed local food system assets and generated policy and program goals to advance public health, health equity, and racial equity through improving Everett’s food system. The planning process included a PhotoVoice project - community-based participatory research to further articulate the vision for a better food system in Everett.
Read more about it on the Planning 101 blog.
Access the Everett Community Food Assessment & Plan here.
Get the PhotoVoice Project magazine here.
Resources
(TO GET YOU STARTED)
Food Systems Data
MAPC's food systems database compiles Massachusetts food systems data and maps in easily accessible formats to encourage community-level understanding of local food systems, health, and demographics. Use this data to answe questions about food access in your area, map food retailers and demographic information, identify where residents are at a high risk of food insecurity, find nearby emergency food providers, and more.
Datasets include:
- Food retailers, farmers markets, liquor stores, fast food outlets, tobacco stores, and pharmacies
- SNAP retailers in Massachusetts
- Healthy Incentives Programs (HIP) retailers
- Massachusetts emergency food providers
- Massachusetts Food Access Index scores
- SNAP/Food stamp enrollment
- Demographic information, including food insecurity rates and environmental justice populations
- Transportation-related spatial data
Massachusetts Community Food Plans
A community food plan synthesizes community members’ shared vision for their food system and serves as a guide for advocates and municipal officials to make strategic changes. The recommended policies and programmatic changes in food plans provide a framework for action. Their specific actions range from developing farmland preservation and urban agriculture policies to supporting school and municipal procurement policies to increase purchases of healthy and local foods. And, many food plans adopt overarching goals to advance racial equity, public health, the economy, and ecological sustainability through food system changes. Several Community Food Plans have been produced in Massachusetts. MAPC has provided technical assistance support on many, particularly those conducted by Mass in Motion Communities. We are available to support your community’s efforts as well!
Check out community food plans and assessments at the links below.
This resource presents over 50 things cities and towns can do to improve food access and build strong food systems. The toolkit includes descriptions of each strategy, relevant case studies, example model bylaws, and links to additional resources. The toolkit is a springboard for action for municipal staff and board members, Mass in Motion coordinators, and community advocates. Check it out here.
Produced by Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and MAPC, 2016
A toolkit for municipal officials working with agricultural producers, residents, and other stakeholders to identify food systems priorities in terms of economic development, health, conservation, equity, and education. It is intended to guide communities through the food planning process, and includes several additional tools and resources. Check it out here.
Produced by CLF Ventures and MAPC, 2013
This guide provides advice for making shared use of kitchens a success in your community in Massachusetts. It provides an overview of the legal issues to consider when starting or using a community kitchen and is meant to serve a starting point for your planning process. The information is targeted to organizations that host community kitchens and the community groups and entrepreneurs that use them, as well as allies and partners seeking to facilitate connecting potential users and kitchen managers. Check it out here.
Produced by Conservation Law Foundation’s Legal Food Hub in partnership with MAPC, 2018
MAPC | Public Health Team
public health
MAPC’s Public Health Committee meets regularly to discuss current and emerging health priorities at MAPC.
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