Building a Sustainable Food System in Great Barrington and the Southern Berkshires

Description

Although Great BarringtonÕs farmers, food producers, and community members are deeply committed to the local food movement, that movement faces both local and global vulnerabilities highlighted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This moment of crisis and disruption is also a moment of opportunity to create a more resilient local system that can weather economic, environmental, and social challenges, and is built on a framework of sustainability. This report offers a set of strategies toward building a food system that works for everyone, from farmers trying to put down roots to families facing food insecurity. A participatory engagement process grounded research objectives, spatial analysis and final recommendations in commitments to labor rights, racial equity and climate justice. Recommendations emerging from this co-creative process center around increasing land access for farmers, creating community growing spaces for all community members to grow food, investing in food processing infrastructure, and deepening collaboration among regional food systems advocates. Great BarringtonÕs community members have an opportunity and an appetite to model a transformative shift toward a more resilient and just food system.

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