Supporting Farmers, Strengthening Community: Advocating for a Resilient Local Food System
Rooted in our deep appreciation of everything that local farmers provide, Berkshire Grown advocates for government policies that secure the future availability of an affordable, sustainable, locally sourced food supply.
Berkshire Grown raises awareness and support for local farmers and food producers through various advocacy channels. Connecting local farmers to the community is our first step to garnering public support for our local food system. Through monthly newsletter, our website, social media outreach, and articles in the press, Berkshire Grown educates the public about issues facing farmers, and how farmers meet those challenges.
We also advocate with law makers on the state level to present the challenges and contributions of our agricultural community in the Berkshires and across the Commonwealth so they will continue to prioritize these issues. Each spring Berkshire Grown joins other farm and food organizations at the State House in Boston for Massachusetts Agriculture Day (“Ag Day”). The event provides a forum for organizations and growers from around the state to gather and share priorities and updates (and samples of local food!) with representatives and staffers at the State House. Ag Day is always fun and fulfilling – it offers focused time to sit down with lawmakers and their staff to share the top priorities for farmers in Berkshire County.
As one of nine Buy Local organizations in Massachusetts, Berkshire Grown hosts an annual tour of Berkshire County farms for the Massachusetts Agriculture Commissioner and some of their MDAR program staff. The tour includes stops at 3-4 Berkshire County farms and is organized around a theme, such as food access, land tenure, or community partnerships. At each stop, farmers showcase their hard work, share their successes and challenges with the Commissioner, and demonstrate the impact of government support and funding for Berkshire farmers.
On both a state and national level, Berkshire Grown’s Executive Director advocates for local food and farming issues through letters written to policy makers. These letters address issues profoundly affected by government policy, including farmland preservation and farmland access, climate change, soil health, food equity, and financial support for programs that will support our farms. We also often sign on to letters in collaboration with other national partners spanning the farm, environment, labor, and nutrition communities across the United States.
A resilient local food system supports farmers to establish and maintain farms following sustainable farming practices, and it provides equitable access to fresh local food for all community members. Berkshire Grown advocates building a local food system where everyone’s connection to food stretches beyond subsistence to a future of abundance.
