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Northampton council holds first reading on resolution urging full funding for Healthy Incentives Program
Summary
The Northampton City Council heard extensive public comment supporting restoration of state funding for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) and held a first reading of a resolution calling for the Commonwealth to add $10 million in a supplemental budget; sponsors said they will return the measure for a final vote in two weeks.
The Northampton City Council on Feb. 6 held a first reading of a resolution calling on state leaders to restore $10 million to the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), a state program that gives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients extra money to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables.
The resolution, sponsored by Councilors John Clemmer, Mary Anne LaBarge and Maiori (listed on the agenda as Maiori), asks Governor Maura Healey, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ronald Mariano and the Massachusetts House and Senate committees on ways and means to include the $10 million in a supplemental budget. Councilors read the resolution aloud and set a vote for the council’s next meeting in two weeks.
Why it matters: Speakers at substantial length during public comment said cuts to HIP are already reducing farmers’ income and hurting food security for low-income households. Several farm and food-access advocates said the program boosts both nutrition and local farm economies by allowing SNAP households to buy fresh produce without reducing their regular SNAP allotment.
Public commenters included Helen Khan, GrowFood Northampton’s farmers-market manager, who told the council the governor’s budget underfunded HIP by $10 million and that the reduction had “drastically reduced the monthly benefits” available to SNAP recipients. Rebecca (Becca) Leopold, Tom Bassett and Helen Seidler also urged the council to support the restoration; several speakers cited local reports of dropped farmer sales and layoffs after the state cut HIP benefits.
Council discussion focused on the program’s local and regional importance. Councilor LaBarge called the cuts “critical” for families, seniors and people with disabilities who rely on SNAP. Councilor Maori described the program as a “win-win” that brings economic activity to farmers markets and helps low-income residents access fresh food, and she said advocates were hopeful pressure on state leaders could restore funding. Councilors Rothenberg, Perry and others voiced support and suggested broadening the list of recipients of the council’s resolution (for example, local food organizations and neighboring municipalities) before the final vote.
The resolution text, read into the record during the meeting, notes that in 2024 “nearly 200,000 households in the Commonwealth and 10% of households in Hampshire County benefited from HIP,” and it asks the city’s administrative assistant to forward the council’s resolution to state leaders and Northampton’s state delegation. The sponsors said they will consider amendments — including adding local food organizations and neighboring municipal governments to the distribution list — and bring the resolution back for final approval in two weeks.
Quotations and sources: Direct quotes in the council discussion and public comment were taken from the meeting transcript and are attributed to listed speakers. The resolution as read names Governor Maura Healey, Senate President Karen Spilka, Speaker Ronald Mariano, the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means and the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means; it also names State Senator Joanne Comerford and State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa as local legislators to receive copies.
Next steps: Sponsors said they will circulate a revised version to include regional food organizations and return the resolution for a final vote at the council’s next meeting.
