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Central Massachusetts Buy Local Planning Initiative
Growing the Heart of the Commonwealth
Now Enrolling! Visit www.centralmassgrown.org for more information and updates.
The organization Central Mass Grown emerged after several months of collaborative community discussions about the need to create a “Buy Local” organization in Central Massachusetts.
Regional Buy Local Groups connect farmers to their surrounding communities and vice versa. Eight "Buy Local" groups currently exist to promote the purchase of local agricultural products across the state. However, until now, there was not a Buy Local organization focused on Central Mass. Our organization is focused on the mission to promote the purchase of local agricultural products and to foster education about the benefits to health, community, economy, and environment.
Specifically:
1. To promote the sale and purchase of agricultural products grown in Central Massachusetts to local markets, restaurants, retailers, aggregator, distributors, general consumers and others;
2. To support the advancement of knowledge and understanding of farms and farming and their benefits and relationship to the environmental, economic, nutritional and social well-being of persons within central Massachusetts and surrounding areas; and
3. To educate farmers, consumers, and the general public on issues about and related to farming.
In 2012, Worcester County ranked 6th among counties nationwide in direct to market food sales. Locally grown food is the Country’s fastest growing food sector; sales of local food increased by ten percent in 2013, compared to a five percent increase in total food sales. Agriculture is a major component of the regional economy, and building this connection between consumer and producer is essential to continuing to meet the growing demand for locally produced and sustainably grown products. In 2015
Currently CMPRC and MRPC provide staff support to the young organization.
Check out our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/centralmassgrown and our regularly updated Twitter feed @CentralMaGrown to find out what is happening with local agricultural products in central Massachusetts
Related websites/ documents
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Mass Grown
Central Massachusetts Farmers Markets
Massachusetts Buy Local Groups
Please send your related meeting dates to dmathieu@cmrpc.org for inclusion on this webpage.
Related
See also the Regional Agricultural Economic Development Project