Embedded Files
Jemisa Douglas preparing a meal at Square One.
Hellen Muma (SFPC) & Jemisa Douglas coordinate fresh produce box delivery at Square One.
Square One children eating fresh fruit.
Square One child enjoying healthy food.
"I feel great. I’ve never felt this anywhere else. It’s still new, but to be able to be creative, take new ideas into the kitchen with people who don’t think about these possibilities.. It’s challenging being in the leadership role. How do you tell your auntie what to do? "
Jemisa Douglas, Square One
Fresh produce for free food distributions at Brightwood Health Center and Square One.
Springfield EATS: What We Do & Our History
Springfield EATS: What We Do & Our History
“We’re not just handing out food, we’re connecting people to an enhanced food system that supports their health and dignity.”
- Liz O'Gilvie, Springfield Food Policy Council
2024 Summary
Springfield EATS’ work this year has been driven by a commitment to expanding access to healthy food, advocating for systemic policy changes, and building capacity for resident engagement and community organizations. With continued support from partners, funders, and community members, we will deepen our impact in the coming year, building local food systems, and improving health outcomes for Springfield’s most vulnerable populations.
Table of Contents
Instructions for Table of Contents: Click on topics listed below to move to the corresponding section on this page. *Note - The Table of Contents is not accessible on the mobile version of this google site.
Springfield EATS Core Partners
Springfield EATS Core Partners
Square One (SQ1): Dawn Di Stefano (CEO), Jemisa Douglas (Nutrition Consultant).
Springfield Food Policy Council (SFPC): Elizabeth Wills O'Gilvie (Executive Director), Hellen Muma (Public Health Policy Associate).
Fertile Ground (Learning & Evaluation): Catherine Sands (Executive Director), Terrell James (Evaluation Consultant), Hellen Muma (Evaluation Consultant), with graphic scribe Tèyo Saree (Project Palambra).
Photo: Jemisa Douglas, Hellen Muma, Liz O'Gilvie, Tèyo Saree, Catherine Sands, Terrell James
Springfield EATS Community Partners
Springfield EATS Community Partners
Benjamin Bland Springfield Resident
Catherine Ratte Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Mary Stuart Trinity Health of New England
Richard Johnson New North Citizens Council
Shannon Rudder Martin Luther King Jr Family Services
Terry Maxey Market and distribution consultant
Photo: Gardening the Community Farm Site, with Mary Stuart, Dawn DiStefano, Catherine Ratte, Terrell James, Liz O'Gilvie, Benjamin Bland, Terry Maxey, Health & Human Services Commissioner Helen Coulton Harris, Catherine Sands
Springfield EATS Distribution Partners
Springfield EATS Distribution Partners
Brightwood Community Health Center, Springfield Technical Community College, Gardening the Community Walnut Street Store, Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, World Farmers, Aoma Muma-Bombetta Farm; Barnabas Forndia-Juah Kumba Farm
“How this work informs my work: these conversations are my light pole. A focal point for me, when I'm in the wind, chaotic, quarterly reporting, this becomes my light post. I can come back to folks I trust and pick back up where we left off. Those relationships, that ideation, that trust...That’s that safety.”
Benjamin Lee Bland, Resident Advocate
4 year Timeline &
4 year Timeline &
Evaluation Report (for more detail)
Evaluation Report (for more detail)
Springfield EATS Advisory Committee meeting graphic scribing by Tèyo Saree.
“Are the conversations about race and equity changing the choices Springfield EATS Community Partners and the group make as leaders? What is more?”
Results: What We've Learned this Year.
Results: What We've Learned this Year.
Themes from our work this year
Themes from our work this year
Funding - requires being strategic and creative, and funding goes in ebbs and flows.
Sometimes it takes doing the work to sharpen the focus
Planting Seeds for Resident advocates takes time and staff capacity
Food is Medicine: Food distributions set the environment at the health center for deeper reflection and action about food insecurity, preventative medicine for vulnerable families with young children
Funds Leveraged
Funds Leveraged
Square One staff members & Liz O'Gilvie at free produce distribution for parents and staff.
Advocacy Updates
Liz O'Gilvie at Gardening the Community.
SFPC Worked on 3 State Food Equity Bills & Federal Policy Committees
SFPC Worked on 3 State Food Equity Bills & Federal Policy Committees
Liz O'Gilvie (SFPC) worked on three State food equity bills (land access, Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), MA food system), advocating for full HIP funding and equitable land access for farmers. SFPC also Influenced federal campaigns for Transformational Farm Bill through contributing to marker bills and advocacy, and attended the Whitehouse Conference on Hunger.
Shaping the field: O'Gilvie serves on advisory committees for the SARE BIPOC Community Grant-making Workgroup; Good Food For All (Union of Concerned Scientists); Transformational Farm Bill Funding & Technical Assistance Council; MA Public Health Alliance Policy Council; MA Health Policy Commission Advisory Council; and the Springfield Public Schools Wellness Committee.
“What I want is so much bigger than what I’ve been given permission to say. I’ve told myself I want less all my life, because that’s manageable. Who am I to deny folks?”
Liz O'Gilvie, Springfield Food Policy Council
Dawn DiStefano with Federal Reserve
SQ1 Advocated for Working Families in Washington & Boston at the Federal Reserve
SQ1 Advocated for Working Families in Washington & Boston at the Federal Reserve
Dawn DiStefano (SQ1) was invited to Washington DC to speak to the Federal Reserve & also advocated to the regional branch in Boston about how they might support working families in Western MA, including childcare, healthy food access & family support services. She also met with Governor Maura Healey.
Shaping the field: Dawn is a local advisor to the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. She also serves on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Early Education & Care (a trade association for private community-based early education and before/after school programs). She serves on the board of the Children’s Investment Fund (private funders investing in capital needs of early care programs).
Gardening the Community youth leaders & staff and World Farmers visit Congressman Richard Neal in Washington, DC.
GTC Youth Advocate with Rural Coalition in Washington, DC
GTC Youth Advocate with Rural Coalition in Washington, DC
Scribing Fundamentals with Gardening the Community.mp4Building Our Capacity
Building Our Capacity
In 2024, some of the ways we built capacity were:
For 3 days in April, 12 Gardening the Community youth and resident leaders learned graphic scribing at dpict in Easthampton.
Each organization has worked to build capacity by hiring & sustaining staff leaders, in school nutrition, public health policy, & community-based anthropology and evaluation.
The Farmers
The Farmers
Since 2020, Springfield EATS has partnered with World Farmers to bring healthy, fresh cultural food to 350 Springfield families who lack fresh food access. World Farmers, located in Lancaster MA, exists to serve refugee and immigrant farmers. Offering land, resources, training and access to farmers markets to nearly 300 farmers from any corner of the globe, World Farmers believes that a diverse food system is key to healthy communities.
Since 2020, World Farmers have grown, packed and brought boxes of fresh produce to Springfield partnering sites to distribute (Square One, Brightwood Health Center). We heard from families that they would like to choose their produce, so in 2024, we tested additional pop up markets with two of the World Farmers, Aoma Muma and Barnabas Forndia.
Aoma, originally from Kenya and Barnabas from Liberia, are passionate immigrant farmers with deep roots in agriculture and have a shared commitment to bringing the flavors of their homelands to communities across the state.
During the summer, the Springfield Food Policy Council joined forces with these two farmers to aggregate cultural produce that was provided to the pop-up markets at Brightwood Health Center & Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, and sold in the Gardening the Community Walnut St. Store, providing nourishment to the Springfield community. This opportunity also provided the farmers with the opportunity to expand their wholesale businesses.
Together they embody the power of farming to bridge cultures and support the health and well-being of communities.
Aoma Muma, Bombetta Farm
Aoma Muma, Bombetta Farm
Barnabas Forndia, Juah Kumbah Farm
Barnabas Forndia, Juah Kumbah Farm
Expanded Local Food Opportunities
Free pop up market at Brightwood Health Center with UMASS Medical PURCH student Justin Nguyen.
Expanding Access to Healthy Fresh Food
Expanding Access to Healthy Fresh Food
Piloted new ways of creating points of access for culturally relevant fresh locally grown food by partnering with World Farmers immigrant and refugee farmers. Partner sites: Brightwood Community Health Center, Square One (2 locations), Gardening the Community Store, Springfield Technical Community College. Produce provided by World Farmers.
Influenced Healthy Incentives Policy legislation and funding.
4 years of coordinating 300+ free CSA shares a year (18 weeks), totalling 15,000 large boxes, and $348K/year of produce (including protein Y3, 4).
Piloted market style free distributions at 2 sites: developing 2 farmer/aggregator businesses, with farmers from Kenya and Liberia. Partner sites: Brightwood Community Health Center, Martin Luther King Jr Family Services.
Gardening the Community Walnut Street Store.
Families Understand & Use their HIP
Families Understand & Use their HIP
SQ1 staff provide SNAP/HIP education during intake ~ 1000 families/yr. Staff support families to access or reactivate their SNAP/HIP by asking “Did You Know?”
This year SQ1 adopted a New Strategy: “Did you use your HIP benefit this month?”Staff explain that HIP becomes available mid month, does not roll over month to month (unlike SNAP). Staff are sending text reminders too with this timing in mind.
"It’s not just about treating illnesses, it’s about creating environments where health can thrive, one bite at a time."
Hellen Muma, SFPC
Resident Engagement In Food Access and Policy Change
Graphic scribing by Hellen Muma, Springfield Food Policy Council.
SFPC held HIP trainings for community based social service agencies that support residents in Hampden County and in churches, schools, hospitals, neighborhood councils, city agencies, colleges.
SFPC led with the Springfield Department of Health & Human Services, a conversation with elders about food ways: Aprendiendo de las Abuelas.
SFPC began designing Community Food Assessment with Springfield Department of Health and Human Services. Led Urban Agriculture Geographic assessment with Conway School. Developed (w/Clark Univ. student) Brownfields assessment for MA farmers
Sustainable Farm to Community Strategies
“Are we truly making a difference for the families who need us the most?” - Dawn DiStefano, Square One
Square One children at the new building site.
Farm to Early Care Changes
Farm to Early Care Changes
Square One mapped organizational menu protocols to eliminate processed foods, and serve fresh fruits and vegetables, and spent additional $50K annually to serve them. Applied for grants to cover this gap.
Made an internal policy change to streamline intake information with SNAP sign up help. SNAP/HIP outreach training for early education teachers and family services staff (65+yr), impacting over 1000 families.
Purchased new headquarters & administrative buildings. Designing infrastructure for handling more fresh produce in new building kitchen; edible garden & playground; community space/market and kitchen.
Square One children.
"It takes courage to change a recipe and do something new. In order to have that bravery, ask for feedback from the kids and teachers, it goes back to how you feel in the culture and environment of your job."
Jemisa Douglas, Square One
Free CSA Distribution & Sustaining Farm to Early Care Evaluation
Free CSA Distribution & Sustaining Farm to Early Care Evaluation
UMASS Medical PURCH students John Almeida, Justin Nguyen, Lindon Tran with Springfield Food Policy Council at Brightwood Health Center.
SFPC PURCH Student Report
SFPC PURCH Student Report
Third year medical students John Almeida, Justin Nguyen, and Lindon Tran, in the UMass Chan Medical School’s Population and Community Health Clerkship Program (PURCH) partnered with the Springfield Food Policy Council to learn how food access shapes community health through volunteering at produce distributions and conducting a focus group with clinicans at Brightwood Health Center. Read more about what they did and learned about their experience here.
UMASS Medical PURCH students Madison Mizer, Lela Walter & Western New England University Pharmacy resident Zachary Lanza, at Square One.
Square One PURCH Student Report
Square One PURCH Student Report
Madison Mixer, Lela Walter, and Zachary Lanza teamed up with Springfield’s Square One to bring healthy eating to life for preschoolers. They turned trying new foods into a fun, hands on adventure, introducing kids to colorful fruits and vegetables like beets and pumpkins. Along the way, they saw the struggles families face in food deserts, where fresh, affordable produce can feel out of reach. This experience showed them how much of a difference healthcare providers can make by addressing real-life barriers like food insecurity.
Read more about what they did and learn about their experience here.
"This (PURCH program) made them realize that access to healthy food needs to be a core part of healthcare."
Hellen Muma, SFPC
WHO WE ARE
Jemisa Douglas, Square One
Dawn Distefano, Square One
Terrell James, SFPC & Fertile Ground
Hellen Muma, SFPC & Fertile Ground
Catherine Sands, Fertile Ground
Tèyo Saree, Project Palambra & Fertile Ground
Elizabeth Wills O'Gilvie, Springfield Food Policy Council
December 2024, report created by Fertile Ground LLC, with Square One & the Springfield Food Policy Council
Fertile Ground team: Catherine Sands, Terrell James, Hellen Muma, Tèyo Saree; Square One: Dawn Di Stefano, Jemisa Douglas. Springfield Food Policy Council: Elizabeth Wills O'Gilvie, Hellen Muma, Terrell James. UMASS Medical PURCH student evaluators: Madison Mizer, Lela Walter, Zachary Lanza, John Almeda, Justin Nguyen, Lindon Tran.
Graphic Scribing: Tèyo Saree (Project Palambra), Hellen Muma
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