26. 



At Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Bridgewater 

 two farmers are planning to divide up the 100 acres being made 

 available to this division. Other institutions across the state 

 including Northampton, Danvers, Gardner, Westboro, and Taunton 

 State Hospitals along with several of the Department of Corrections 

 are being eyed with the possibility of using some of the land at 

 these various locations for commercial farming. 



As work is now xanderway to secure institutional land for 

 farming, it is expected that by late fall of this year or very 

 early in 1976, several large tracts of land will be ready to be 

 turned over to farmers for planting early in the spring of 1976. 



June: 



Usually by the time the month of June rolls around most 

 of the home gardens are well planted, but due this year to a wet, 

 cold spring we were able to get two more community gardens started 

 during this month. One site was located at the former Lyman School 

 for Boys in V^estboro, (a two acre site) and the other one was a 

 one acre spot of land at the Boston State Hospital in the Mattapan 

 section. Both sites had gardeners who were eager to get started 

 and produce some of their own fresh vegetables. 



For some time now the Department of Agriculture under 

 the leadership of Frederic V^inthrop has been in the process of 

 formiilating a food policy for the Commonwealth. Since Massachusetts 

 is about 85 percent dependent on outside sources for its food 

 supply, the creation of a Division of Agricultural Land Use at 

 this time would seem to fit like a glove into the objectives of 

 the food policy. 



One of the main points that came out of former Governor 

 Sargent's Emergency Food Commission was that the citizens of this 

 state should do everything possible to reduce their dependency on 

 outside sources for our food. While this meant many things, 

 including food storage, grain storage, processing plants closer 

 to New England, and better freight rates, it also meant increasing 

 food production both on a commercial scale and home or community 

 gardening here in Massachusetts. 



The two main programs currently being carried on by this 

 division certainly are a step in the right direction. We can no 

 longer take for granted that there is an endless supply of good 

 land for farmers to grow food on for an ever increasing population. 

 Today we must use all land as wisely as possible and even go back 

 and make use of some of the land previously determined to be not 

 suitable for gardening. 



Today we are at long last taking a long, hard look at 

 land and development rights, easements, farmland assessment, and 

 a whole host of other things that will determine how land will be 

 used not only today or tomorrow but in years. to come. 



