"Improving food security? In Massachusetts?"

I admit, I'm struggling with this one. I live in a rich nation, and a rich state within that nation. Boston isn't quite as cosmopolitan as New York City, but there's still plenty of conspicuous spending. Not that we don't have poor people. It's just that, on average, people in this state have trouble getting food because they are out of work, not because of lack of education. Yes, I know that's a generalization. But I specifically live in a fairly well-off suburban area. Most of the food-related organizations around here are focused on giving handouts to tide people over until their lives improve. Giving a fish, not teaching to fish.

But I'm working on it. According to the food pantry right in town, http://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/ , the number of regulars has gone up by 28% since the beginning of October. And I also learned that the food pantry has a partnership with Tangerini's Farm http://www.tangerinisfarm.com/tangerini_farm_csa_share.htm . The farm works on a Community Supported Agriculture plan, as is described here: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ . The gist is, you pay a lump sum at the beginning of the season to cover the cost of growing, and then you come regularly to pick up whatever's harvested that week, your share. At Tangerini's Farm, you can also donate towards a share to be donated to the food pantry, which is good because most food pantries have to rely on non-perishables, and this partnership with the farm means that they get seasonal, local fresh foods. I don't know if teaching folks to fish will be something I personally can tackle here in the land of the cod, but for the moment, I'm going to settle for improving the food that people do get.