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Date: 7/5/2023
SPRINGFIELD — For more than a decade, state Rep. Orlando Ramos (D-Springfield) said there has been a lack of access to fresh food in the city of Springfield. In an effort to change that, Ramos filed legislation to address food deserts.
Prior to the Joint Committee on Public Health meeting on June 21 in Boston, Ramos issued a press release that stated, “[House bill 3632], otherwise known as an act establishing an advisory committee on the accessibility of fresh food retail in communities throughout the commonwealth, is intended to help address food insecurity, by establishing a committee tasked with studying the issue and making recommendations as to how the government could help address food deserts.”
Ramos said, “Springfield has a few communities that by definition, are considered food deserts. Access to fresh food is critical to our overall health. Without access to healthful foods, people living in food deserts may be at higher risk of diet-related conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It can also have a significant financial impact on families and require people with limited mobility to travel farther to find healthful food options.”
During the June 21 meeting, Ramos was joined by two members on his panel — Ward 8 City Councilor Zaida Govan and Fred Rose — to testify on the bill.
Ramos shared that Mason Square and Indian Orchard in Springfield are among the communities that are considered food deserts.
Ramos said this is a “huge” public health and equity issue in cities like Springfield and beyond.
“Springfield is not alone in accessibility to fresh foods,” Ramos said. He noted that this bill would task the committee in making recommendations on how it can be addressed in other communities.
He asked the committee for a favorable recommendation on the bill and encouraged them to look at it from both lenses.
Govan said, “I have done some extensive studies on this subject between 2009-2012 and what we discovered on the Mason Square Health Task Force is that specifically in Mason Square, there was a very big lack of fresh food for the constituents there.”
Govan noted that the same thing has been experienced in Indian Orchard.
“We don’t have full line grocery stores out here. We tried in Mason Square to get one and we were denied and most recently, a smaller grocery store [Big Y Express] was put in downtown Springfield, so I’m urging the committee to pass favorably on this bill because there’s a great need out in our community,” Govan said.
She told Reminder Publishing that the Mason Square Health Task Force and Live Well Springfield started a campaign to bring a full line grocery store to Mason Square — specifically behind the old Burger King — now a Popeyes.
“We collected receipts from the residents that showed that there was a need and a profit to be made. None of the stores were interested in coming there,” Govan said.
She shared that the Big Y Express is “good” but there is a “much greater need in other areas of the city.”
Govan said that the 2012 statistics may be a little outdated, so she encourages the research to continue.
She went on to say that she committed to growing community gardens in 2009 and is continuing today. The gardens are located at the Mason Square Library, among other sites.
Govan noted that food cannot be grown year-round in New England, unless it is in an indoor greenhouse. She said that the task force is committed to helping people grow as much food as they can in the off season and are in the process of teaching people how to can their foods and save it during that time.
Rose, who followed Govan’s remarks, shared that he is the co-director of the Wellspring Cooperatives — a community development organization in Springfield.
He said that Springfield confronts “high levels” of poverty and lacks access to food stores and other access to food in many neighborhoods. With “high levels of food deserts,” Rose shared that it results in “high levels of hunger in the city.”
Rose said that 28.6% of Springfield residents are poor which is among the highest poverty rates in the state. According to the United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2022, Springfield’s poverty rate was 26.3%.
“In addition, Springfield has the second highest grocery gap in this state. So, as a result, 14.3% of Springfield residents are food insecure which is over 22,000 people,” Rose said.
To address food insecurity, Rose explained that his organization runs the Go Fresh Mobile Market, which delivers fresh produce to area residents and collects its produce from area farms. Residents can use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and recipients can use their Healthy Incentive Program benefits to access this fresh produce, he said.
“While 48% of Springfield residents access SNAP, only 5% use their HIP benefit so there’s a huge gap in accessing fresh produce, even from this program,” shared Rose.
Rose said the mobile market is about to put a second van on the streets based on the Massachusetts Food and Infrastructure Grant received. However, as the program grows, he said they are unsure as to where to expand and there is “no good information” about where people need access to fresh food and produce. Other challenges include lack of information on how to overcome barriers of transportation, language, culturally appropriate foods, health and other factors that prevent good access to fresh foods.
As this bill will create an advisory committee on fresh food access, Rose said it will help answer those questions and enable programs like his to target people in need. Additionally, it will provide a better understanding and ensure that all residents in Springfield and across the state have access to healthy food.
“Access to fresh healthy food is a right that should be guaranteed to all Massachusetts residents and this advisory committee is an important step towards ending hunger and ensuring food access throughout the state. We strongly encourage support for this bill and look forward to working with the committee in carrying out this important work,” Rose concluded.
Following the meeting, Ramos told Reminder Publishing that he has heard frequent complaints on the lack of access to fresh food, especially when he represented Indian Orchard on the City Council. “It’s been an issue for over a decade,” he said.
He shared that he believes the best way to start conversation around this is to form a committee.
Now that he has filed legislation and testified before the Joint Committee on Public Health, Ramos is hoping for a favorable recommendation and that it goes to the floor for a vote. If that happens, Ramos said there is the possibility of attaching it to an even larger food bill.
He went on to say that the city can and should have addressed this issue, however, since nothing was done, it needed to be brought to the state level.