The Healey administration will work with a central Massachusetts community group to solicit donations aimed at helping farmers offset damages and losses from recent flooding.
Gov. Maura Healey and top deputies on Thursday announced the launch of the "Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund" alongside United Way of Central Massachusetts, imploring state residents to contribute to get local farms back on their feet after a series of powerful storms prompted the loss of at least $15 million in crops.
"It's appropriate for people across Massachusetts to step up and find ways to support the people who feed our families," Healey said in an interview Thursday.
Speaking later from a farm in Easthampton that suffered major damage, Healey said state officials are also working to line up relief from the federal government.
"While we will pursue disaster relief as we've done ... when it comes to our farms, the reason we set this up is because we need people to pitch in now, while we pursue all of those other federal means," Healey said.
But Healey said a lot of Massachusetts farms may not end up being eligible for that assistance.
"That's important for people to know," she said. "So if people think that there's going to be a whole bunch of money coming from the federal government this way, I'm not holding my breath. None of us are."
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said the money will go to address urgent needs.
"Farmers are talking about today: 'Am I going to keep people employed? Am I going to be able to pay back my loans?' All the money that goes out in the spring for the seed, the supply, the labor that goes into toiling and then not being able to sell that product," Driscoll said. "It really is heartbreaking. And that's what this Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund is about."
Healey did not detail any plans to put state dollars toward the relief fund, other than an initial $10,000 donation from Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office.
Driscoll said the fund is launching with almost $100,000 secured so far from private philanthropy.
This report contains information from NEPM's Jill Kaufman and Sam Hudzik.
