The Massachusetts Food Trust Program 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, in order to increase access to healthy foods and spur economic development.

The capital funds released by the Program offer local food businesses both small grants and below market rate loans. This lessens the risk for borrowers and provides a starting point that draws traditional capital lenders to the projects.  The Program also provides pre-and-post loan technical assistance, in order to ensure that entrepreneurs are getting access to the resources they need to be successful and sustainable.

• Click here for the MA Food Trust Program Fact Sheet.
• For one-page summaries of all funded projects, click here.
• To visit the MA Food Trust Program website, click here.
• To view program eligibility criteria, click here.
• To  apply for funding, click here.

The Facts   

Data collected by The Food Trust 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.

Additional Resources

The Food Trust| Emerging HFFI Programs
A list of the emerging Healthy Food Financing Initiative programs across the county including the Massachusetts Food Trust Program with additional information.

Municipal Strategies to Increase Food Access Toolkit
A report that presents strategies and methods to increase food access and food production in municipal systems. The toolkit is a tool that municipal staff, board members and community food advocates can utilize to improve food access in their towns and cities.

Sowing Seeds at the State Level: How Legislatures Strengthen Local Food Systems
A webinar featuring MPHA, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Healthy Food Access Portal
Find contact information for your elected officials, here.

Good Food Massachusetts: Municipal Resource Guide
The purpose of this resource guide is to inform local leaders of many resources available to increase access to healthy, affordable food and to make Massachusetts municipalities a healthier place to live, work, learn, and play.

2014 Environmental Bond Bill – Healthy Food Financing Language

Supporting Organizations to Date

Click here to add your organization to the list.