As a member of the Food System Caucus, Rep. Stanley cosponsored a Hunger Action Month sign-on letter to Speaker DeLeo, Senate President Spilka, Chair Michlewitz, and Chair Rodrigues. The letter outlines two budgetary priorities and three legislative priorities as well as Caucus initiatives in recognition of Hunger Action Month.

The letter requested: $30 million in budget funding for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP) to meet the increased demand on food banks caused by the pandemic and $17 million for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) which has been a long-standing priority of the Food System Caucus and is now receiving widespread attention as a critical program to combat food insecurity and support farmers during the COVID-19 crisis. The letter also requested the consideration and passage of three bills: one which provides civil liability protections to individuals, restaurants, and organizations that make direct food donations to persons in need; one which would provide “Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation” protections to supermarkets, restaurants, and farmers when charitably donating food; and a bill to establish a Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Fund to be administered by the Department of Transitional Assistance.

September is recognized as Hunger Action Month in the United States Over the past six months, the issue of food insecurity and access has been at the forefront of discussions both within Massachusetts and nationally. Reliance on local food systems has increased and we have seen a reinvestment in local agriculture. At the end of the month, the Caucus will update the Legislature on work being done to alleviate the hunger and food infrastructure crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA), Rep. Stanley requested support of Healthy Waltham’s application to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program. Healthy Waltham’s Cold Storage Expansion Project will be a vital resource to families in Waltham. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made food security a serious challenge for many families and access to food and emergency food resources are in very high demand. During this time Healthy Waltham has provided a vital intervention for families and residents, ensuring that they have access to food when in need. Funding from EEA will allow Healthy Waltham to expand their cold and dry storage capacity, transportation infrastructure, and their capacity to source large quantities of produce, proteins, and dry goods to ensure Waltham residents can have access to high quality, fresh, and local food through their food assistance programs.

The Cold Storage Expansion Project will allow Healthy Waltham to distribute vital foods to community residents. The demand for their services has grown exponentially and in order for them to meet vulnerable residents’ where they are and with the consistency that they need they must invest in expanded refrigeration, freezer, and dry storage as well as refrigerated transportation.

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On September 15th, Rep. Stanley attended an AstraZeneca virtual briefing on the importance of precision medicine in cancer care. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on cancer care in states across our country, making it more difficult for patients to receive vital cancer screenings and the latest precision medicines that allow healthcare professionals to treat cancer earlier and more effectively. To educate on the importance of precision medicine and its continued value for patients and health systems alike, AstraZeneca hosted an informational briefing. Also in attendance were state policy makers from others states, who work on public health and cancer policy issues that help improve quality of care for underserved patients.

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has been granted the 6th and final Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) week, through the federal program. The limited additional weekly unemployment benefit to claimants under the program went to all eligible claimants for the weeks ending 8/1/20 through 9/5/20. All LWA eligible unemployment claimants in both the UI and PUA programs should receive the supplemental funding by September 15th. For more information, please click here or email Rep. Stanley.

Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants passed away on September 4th at age 65. Gants had served as the high court's top judge since July 2014. Gants was appointed as an associate justice of the court in 2009 and was sworn in as the chief justice by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2014. Before that, he served for more than 10 years on the Massachusetts Superior Court. He also worked as a federal prosecutor and was chief of the Public Corruption Unit in the U.S. Attorney's office in Massachusetts before going into private practice.

Rep. Stanley will meet with Lincoln constituents and climate advocates on September 17, 2020 to discuss the 100 percent Renewable Energy Act (H.2836) as well as climate legislation that would put the Commonwealth on the path towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 which is currently under review in Conference Committee.

On September 17, 2020, Rep. Stanley will provide some remarks on the state of the Commonwealth during the pandemic, focusing on the status of the budget in particular.