UPPER NORTH SHORE
FOOD SYSTEM STUDY PREPARED FOR: THE THREE SISTERS GARDEN PROJECT
The Three Sisters Garden Project (TSGP), a non-profit community farm and local food access organization based in Ipswich, contracted a team of graduate students from the Conway School to conduct a food system study to understand the ways in which it can play a role in increasing the accessibility, affordability, and abundance of healthy, locally grown food in the seventeen-town study area within Essex County, Massachusetts (see front cover for list of towns). The organization’s primary partners for this project include Nourishing the North Shore, The Open Door, and Acord Food Pantry. Through research and analysis, the Conway team’s study led to the development of seven core recommendations and a series of specific action items for TSGP and its community partners. This report identifies barriers to local production, distribution, and access to locally grown food; analyzes the causes and effects of existing barriers; and proposes potential solutions to overcome barriers in the upper North Shore Food System.
GALEN HAMMITT, ALLISON MASON, & BRADY POWELL THE CONWAY SCHOOL | WINTER 2020 Community Partners: The Open Door, Nourishing the North Shore, & Acord Food Pantry For the towns of Salem, Salisbury, Beverly, Gloucester, Rockport, Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, West Newbury, Newburyport, Amesbury, Essex, Peabody, & Manchester