Growing Places Partnership
Strengthening a Regional Food System Through Partnership With Growing Places
UMass Memorial Health’s work to advance food equity is rooted in partnership — and one of the most important relationships in this work is with Growing Places, a North Central Massachusetts organization dedicated to improving food access, supporting local farmers and building a more equitable food system.
Across the region, Growing Places connects residents with fresh, locally grown food through mobile markets, home delivery programs and community-based partnerships. Their work spans more than two dozen communities, many of which face high rates of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease.
Strengthening Local Food Infrastructure Through the FEAST Initiative
Through the FEAST (Food Equity and Sustainable Transformation) initiative, UMass Memorial is working with Growing Places to strengthen both access to food and the infrastructure that makes a local food system sustainable. That includes supporting efforts to expand aggregation, processing and distribution capacity — critical gaps that can limit how local food reaches institutions and families.
“Growing Places is helping to build the connective tissue of our regional food system,” said Mario Florez, Vice President of Community Health and Caregiver Belonging, UMass Memorial. “When we invest in partnerships like this, we’re not just improving access to healthy food — we’re helping create the infrastructure and relationships needed for long-term equity.”
Community Impact Across Central Massachusetts
Our partnership has taken many forms locally, from mobile markets at UMass Memorial Health – HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital campuses to fresh food deliveries supporting patients and families in Fitchburg.
For Tricia Pistone, Associate Vice President for Community Affairs, HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital, the collaboration reflects a broader shift in how health care systems approach community health. “Food access is a foundational part of health, and it requires us to work beyond our walls,” she said. “By partnering with Growing Places, we’re supporting both the people who need food and the farmers and organizations that make healthy food possible in our communities.”
Building a More Just and Sustainable Food System
This work reflects a core principle of FEAST: aligning UMass Memorial’s resources — purchasing, partnerships and community benefit investments — to strengthen a more just, accessible and sustainable food system across Central Massachusetts.
Food equity means people can consistently get food that supports their health, reflects cultural preferences and comes from stable, sustainable systems.
Strong local food systems also support community well-being. Local farming and food production create jobs, strengthen local economies and improve food security.