Massachusetts Food Trust Program

The Massachusetts Food Trust Program (MFTP) is a public/private partnership overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and administered by the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund and Franklin County Community Development Corporation.  The program provides loans, grants, and business assistance to support new and expanding health food retailers and local food enterprises in low and moderate income communities.

Since its launch in 2018, MFTP has: 

  • Improved access to healthy food retail for more than 418,000 residents 
  • Supported more than 1,200 jobs, 90% hired from within local communities
  • Financed 91 projects across 11 of the 14 Massachusetts’ counties
  • Invested $6 million of state dollars that have leveraged $22 million of other funds. To date, the program has only written off $65,000 out of total $5.8 million in loans disbursed between FY 2019 to FY 2024

By offering local food businesses small grants and below-market-rate loans, MFTP is able to both reduce risk for borrowers and attract traditional capital lenders to the projects, thus leveraging public dollars with additional private investment. In addition, the program provides pre-and-post loan technical assistance to ensure that entrepreneurs have access to the resources they need to be successful.

The Facts   

Data collected by MFTP shows that 2.8 million people living in low-income areas in Massachusetts lack access to grocery stores, including more than 700,000 children and 523,000 seniors. Grocery stores included chain and independent markets with annual food sales of $2 million or more. Low-income areas were based on incomes lower than the state wide per capita income level of  $36, 895.

Top Massachusetts Cities with the most significant Grocery Gap:

  1. Chelsea
  2. Springfield
  3. Taunton
  4. Everett
  5. Revere
  6. Lawrence
  7. Lowell
  8. Lynn
  9. Brockton
  10. Chicopee

The maps below highlight the grocery gap  in the counties of the top ten cities in Massachusetts with low grocery store access. Fact sheets provide info on the potential impact of the Massachusetts Food Trust Program to help reduce food access disparities in cities like Revere, Springfield and  Lawrence by expanding the capacity of local farmers’ markets, and bodegas and building more grocery stores.

Berkshire County Grocery Access MapHampden County Grocery Access MapSuffolk County Grocery Access Map
Bristol County Grocery Access MapMerrimack Valley Grocery Access Map 

Additional Resources

Environmental Bond Bill MFTP Fact Sheet

FY26 State Budget MFT Fact Sheet

One Page Project Summaries

The Massachusetts Food Trust Website

Municipal Strategies to Increase Food Access Toolkit

Good Food Massachusetts: Municipal Resource Guide