An open letter to Mayor Marty Walsh
Congratulations on your 2’nd State of the City, Mr. Mayor. There are certainly accomplishments and initiatives to be proud of, one thing about elective office is that there are always things we can do better. Let me offer some thoughts on one area that has been largely neglected during your tenure, the Office of Food Initiatives.
I’m not here to suggest that food policy is the most pressing issue of the day. It doesn’t require micro managing it in any way, just setting some parameters where there is bang for the buck to be had, and let someone run with it. For instance, while homelessness can be a very visible sign of poverty and need, hunger is not. Childhood food insecurity in Massachusetts as a whole, is 16.5%, probably even higher in Boston. For all the talk about improving education, it is beyond a doubt that one way you can get children to learn better, is when they have a good breakfast to start. It also improves their health, keeping them in school, parents don’t have to lose time from work caring for them either. So how about an initiative that guarantees a healthy breakfast start to every Boston student?
For all the celebration about attracting GE to Boston, let’s not forget that small business is really the economic driver of the economy. To that end, a review all policies and programs related to food entrepreneurs operating in Boston should be undertaken. This should extend to commercial kitchen incubators, urban agricultural projects, individuals and food trucks. Policies, regulations and tax incentives to encourage all of these areas should be pursued as aggressively as attracting a GE, as they are better for the whole city in the long run.
Finally, wouldn’t it be great if the city had an event that celebrated all things related to urban food? Out on City Hall Plaza and out to the neighborhoods, a weekend where people could see the full range of how Boston is committed to growing the impact of a food economy to a healthy city. All those elements I referred to before, chef demos, anything to do with food in the city.
Ideas are easy. Commitment and follow through is where the rubber hits the road. The people of Boston are not as impressed by a GE deal, a Grand Prix or an Olympics. It’s celebrating and making the things we have better than they were. Better roads, better neighborhoods, better opportunities for our people. Better care of our children. I hope you can find time to think about these or other ideas. It’s not for Boston 2030, it’s for Boston now.
As a participant in the Boston Urban Agriculture Vision project that convened throughout most of 2015, let me direct you to the final report:
https://bostonurbanag.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/boston-urban-ag-vision-final.pdf
Unfortunately, the Mayor and his administration have not publicized this report nor seem to have taken up its recommendations. Yet.
The Sustainable Business Association of MA has long been focused on the local food network and has now produced 6 local food festivals in Boston:
http://sbnmass.org/programs/boston-local-food-committee/
They would be a useful ally in promoting your idea of a local food event that goes out into all the city’s neighborhoods.
There is also the Boston Food System mailing list at bfs@elist.tufts.edu which reaches many of the food activists in the Greater Boston area.
Irony of the quote from Mayor Walsh at the beginning, noted. The city needs to up its attention.
My understanding is that the Boston Public Schools participate in a U.S. Department of Agriculture program called “Community Eligibility.” School districts with high populations of low-income families (of which Boston is one) can offer meals at no charge for all students. More info here.
I recently became aware that this program exists, but was unsure whether Boston was participating. That said, I’m curious as to what % of the school population takes advantage of this in Boston. I found this link, that the program started under Mayor Menino. Importantly, it includes breakfast and lunch.