MA Food Policy Council Meeting

Agenda:

Call to Order
Acceptance of Minutes
Officers Reports  
Old Business  

Program

     USDA Farm Bill  

Christopher Bosso, Ph.D, Professor of Public Policy; Director, Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Administration Programs, Northeastern University,  and author of Framing the Farm Bill: Interests, Ideology, and the Agricultural Act of 2014 (University of Kansas Press, 2017)

Annika Nielsen, Program Coordinator, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), and law students Irène Grialou and Amy Chyao. 

The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic has spent over a year and a half coordinating the Farm Bill Law Enterprise (FBLE), a national partnership of law schools working toward a farm bill that reflects the long-term needs of our society. FBLE has conducted research and developed recommendations for the 2018 Farm Bill, and recently published in three reports: (1) Diversified Agricultural Economies; (2) Food Access, Nutrition, and Public Health; (3) Productivity and Risk Management. FLPC also released a report entitled “Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2018 Farm Bill,” which was not developed by FBLE. https://www.chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Opportunities-to-Reduce-Food-Waste-in-the-2018-Farm-Bill_May-2017.pdf

 Professor Bosso:

• The Farm Bill described in broad strokes including a general overview of the sections 
• How and why SNAP, food equity and public health topics are in the Farm Bill 

 Annika Nielsen:

• Background on the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic’s farm bill reports
  • Farm Bill Law Enterprise (FBLE) released 3 reports:
    • Diversified Agricultural Economies
    • Food Access, Nutrition and Public Health
    • Productivity and Risk Management
• Brief overview of FLPC’s Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2018 Farm Bill report
• Resources to access and understand the Farm Bill
  • FBLE website: http://www.farmbilllaw.org/
    • Blog posts, background memos, additional reading material

Irène Grialou and Amy Chyao:

• Salient recommendations from “Diversified Agricultural Economies” report
• Aspects of the farm bill that most affect MA
  • Overview of MA agriculture stats, use of relevant farm bill programs.         

Professor Bosso:
Additional aspects of the Farm Bill that most affect Massachusetts

MA Food Policy Council Legislative Members update on relevant food and ag legislation:

• Senator Anne Gobi
• Representative Hannah Kane
• Representative Steve Kulik

 New Business

•  Council member updates
•  MA Food Collaborative Update, Winton Pitcoff, Executive Director

 Public Comment

 Announcements 

• March 27, 2018 - Ag Day at the State House, Boston
• April 7, 2018 - PVGrows Forum, 9:15 am-4:15 pm, Gateway City Arts, Holyoke

Adjournment