Overview
CMRPC is proud to incorporate food and agriculture planning into existing plans and collaborate with farmers and stakeholders to find solutions to challenges in agriculture in the region.
Project Highlights
Central Mass Grown
Central Mass Grown (CMG) is a non-profit organization comprised of farmers, buy-local advocates, and community leaders dedicated to raising consumer awareness and increasing the profitability of regional farms. CMG was originally formed over a decade ago by the CMRPC.
Today, Central Mass Grown:
- Educate farmers, consumers, and the general public on issues about and related to farming;
- 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;
- Promote the sales and purchase of agricultural products grown in Central Massachusetts to local markets, restaurants, retailers, aggregators, distributors, general consumers and others; and
Healthy Quaboag Food Systems
CMRPC released the Healthy Quaboag’s Food Systems dashboard. This resource was developed as a component of the Quaboag Valley Food Policy Council’s upcoming Community Food Assessment. As communities seek sustainable solutions for food security and economic resilience, having clear, accessible data is crucial. This tool allows local governments, businesses, nonprofits, and community members to visualize key data about the Quaboag region’s food system, from production to consumption.
This information can then enable these stakeholders to collaborate more effectively on initiatives that support local farms and farmers, improve access to nutritious foods, and build community resilience. The dashboard compiles data from a variety of sources including MassGIS, MDAR’s Massgrown Map, and the US Census Bureau, and includes information about Barre, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Hardwick, New Braintree, North Brookfield Spencer, Warren, and West Brookfield, among other towns.
