Merrimack Valley Food Resiliency Partnership
Food security is the most reported unmet social need in the United States. Approximately, 19.5% of all households in MA reported food insecurity in October 2023.
The rising costs of housing and other basic needs, like food, are factors that can likely be attributed to the rising rates of food insecurity. (U.S. Household Pulse Survey).
Groundwork Lawrence (GWL), Merrimack College (MC), and Lawrence General Hospital (LGH) will convene and facilitate the Merrimack Valley Food Resiliency Partnership. This partnership of 30+ organizations (community-based, corporate, and municipal) across Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, and North Andover, communities are actively engaged in addressing food security in each of their communities in a multitude of ways. Working with this expansive group of partners, we will map the area’s food landscape to devise strategies for systematic sustainable change to our collective food security.
Project Goals include:
- Build a regional food systems partnership that will sustain itself beyond this grant funding
- Map regional assets and resource gaps in the regional food system
- Develop a prototype for a technology-assisted platform to sustain continuous/real-time assets/gaps
mapping and food system communication - Co-create a regional food security action agenda for the next 2 years
The Food System Resilience Partnership is an important regional effort to understand the assets and gaps of food access in the Merrimack Valley.
Learn more about the Food System Resilience Partnership in our interactive report featuring:
- Quick History and Vision of the Food System Resilience Partnership
- Food Access Map
- Nutrition Flyers and Recipes
GET INVOLVED
If you would like to learn more about joining the partnership, please reach out to Dariana Guerrero, Food Resiliency Partnership Coordinator at dguerrero@groundworklawrence.org Learn how you can help!
