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Farming Falmouth urges town to back farmland protections, shared processing and farmworker housing
Summary
Farming Falmouth presented findings from a community food-system series calling for a food policy council, farmland protection with active-use requirements, shared processing infrastructure, workforce and succession support, and measures to increase equitable access to local food. The group asked the board to support a fall food summit and consider 545 Main Street as a commercial kitchen incubator.
Farming Falmouth told the Select Board on May 18 that the town’s local food system needs coordinated action across land use, workforce, infrastructure and outreach.
Jess Cole, executive director of Farming Falmouth, summarized key recommendations developed during a four-session community discussion series: convene a formal food-policy or coordinating council; prioritize farmland preservation that ensures land remains actively farmed rather than simply conserved; create shared processing and cold-storage infrastructure and a commercial kitchen to help small growers scale; and support workforce development and farmworker housing to sustain growers as the region’s farming population ages.
Cole described specific program ideas including apprenticeship links with Cape Cod Community College and workforce incubators for value-added production. She urged the town to consider 545 Main Street’s existing kitchen as a potential commercial kitchen or incubator for small producers. On equity, the group recommended multilingual outreach, SNAP enrollment assistance, transportation for seniors and immigrant communities, and partnerships with local social-service organizations.
Board members asked about ties to town-owned land, whether the 545 Main Street kitchen could host shared processing, and how Farming Falmouth would engage restaurants and expand markets; Cole said current production is largely donated to service organizations, that they already supply some local restaurants, and that an incubator kitchen could create new economic pathways for growers.
Cole concluded with a request that the board help convene stakeholders and support a fall food summit at the high school. Farming Falmouth plans summer activities at its Patch site and is seeking collaborations and grant matches to scale community-supported programs and a shared-kitchen model.
Quote from the presentation: "Help us build a more resilient, equitable, and locally rooted food system. Advocate for a roundtable with the Select Board, local legislation, and Farming Falmouth," Cole said.
