UMass Amherst and Tufts Collaboration Expands Food Is Medicine Program to North Shore
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Researchers from the UMass Amherst Center for Research on Families (CRF), School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS), and College of Natural Sciences (CNS), are part of a new collaboration between UMass Amherst and Tufts University advancing the Food Is Medicine program on Massachusetts’ North Shore.
Grounded in partnership, local food systems, and community leadership, the project will pilot a Food Is Medicine model through a Gloucester food pantry, offering healthy, culturally relevant meal kits featuring local seafood and locally grown produce.
The work, which builds on community-driven efforts like Fish to Plate and the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, will be led by Jynessa Dutka-Gianelli, UMass extension assistant professor of sustainable fisheries and seafood in the Department of Environmental Conservation in the College of Natural Sciences and Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, research assistant professor in the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts.
The project’s collaborative team also includes Lorraine Cordeiro, CRF director and professor of nutrition in the SPHHS, Mariana Chilton, professor of practice in SPHHS, Chaoran Ma, assistant professor of nutrition in SPHHS, and Amanda Kinchla, extension professor of food science in CNS.
Dutka-Gianelli, who works out of the Gloucester Marine Station, says that “one Gloucester fisherman told us that the work we’re doing is bringing hope to their fishing community. That reminder stays with us.”
“As this work begins, we hold the Gloucester community in our hearts following the recent loss from a fishing vessel sinking,” Cordeiro says. “This project is rooted in respect for Gloucester’s fishing heritage and a commitment to listening, care and long-term partnership. Together, we’re working to strengthen local fisheries and farms, improve access to nourishing food, and build a resilient food systems model—with and for the community.”
More information on the Food is Medicine program can be found be found in this feature article from 2023.