PVGrows Forum

Save the Date! The 2016 PVGrows Forum will be held Wednesday, March 9th at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, MA. This year, the forum centers around the topic “Local Food, Healthy Communities.” We hope you’ll join us.

The 2016 PVGrows Forum will examine the ways in which health and local food are connected, and specifically how issues of access, affordability and equity in our local food system impact health outcomes for our communities, and disproportionately so for poor communities and communities of color.

Despite the strong local food movement in Western Massachusetts, many in our region struggle to gain access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables. Low income families in both urban and rural areas may not have food stores nearby, and those that are accessible may not carry healthy, let alone local and culturally relevant, produce. In Western Massachusetts, the majority of people of color live in urban areas, where the quality and selection of produce is poorest, making fresh and healthy local food a racial and economic equity issue. At the 2016 Spring Forum, we will deepen the dialogue and working relationships between the healthcare sector and the local food movement, identify barriers to healthy local food, and highlight work that is already increasing the availability of locally grown food for individuals and institutions.

PVGrows Forums are annual events that bring 100-150 people interested in the food system of the Pioneer Valley together to spend a day deeply exploring one crucial topic.

Join us at the 2016 PVGrows Forum to explore how health outcomes can be improved by linking local agriculture and under-served communities.