This document illustrates the many ways farmers, food businesses, distributors, and farm supporters responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. As supply chains were upended, traditional ways of shopping made less safe, and institutions and businesses closed, the organizations profiled here proved their indispensability in supporting farmers and advancing food security.

Our region continued to address other pressing issues, too: advancing the fight against climate change, promoting new business models to find their economic footing as refugees, and honing systems to make local foods accessible for all.

We offer the following report to demonstrate the value that farmers and local food organizations provide to the Northeast, and, in turn, the value that state and federal policies provide to them in helping them do their work. We also share some ideas from practitioners about how some of these policies can be
improved to support a Northeast food system that is fair, resilient, and sustainable.

This document is a collaborative effort of the following organizations: American Farmland Trust, Community Food Funders, Hartford Food System/CT Food System Alliance, The John Merck Fund, Land For Good, Maine Farmland Trust, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, and Public Health Solutions.